City of the Sun
by leoooooo
Summary: She was just another girl in the crowd that had caught Kira's attention as he walked towards the college campus with Athrun. But yet it happened that this pink haired woman's future was very much intertwined with his. Chapter 18 up.
1. Prologue

Gundam Seed is owned by Sunrise/Bandai, I do not own it.

This is an alternate world story I sort of randomly wrote, my first time on here. Enjoy.

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It was a clear midday in the city with the sun shinning bright across the open blue sky. The crowds of people walked every which way, all in their own worlds. It was a busy street of shops in the heart of the capital.

The two friends pushed along, holding on to their notebooks and such. Athrun always walked cool and quietly, being lost in thought mostly about the days classes. His close friend Kira on the other hand gazed at the sky, dreaming away about things unrelated to the school he was walking towards. The two of them typically walked together when they had the same morning classes.

Athrun was walking a few steps ahead as he tried to remember the various lectures from the previous weeks. He maneuvered around a businessman forcefully walking in the opposite direction. Daydreaming Kira on the other hand ran right into the man.

"Oh excuse me sir," he responded, looking down to see where his notes and books had fallen. "Are you alright?" The man just walked on in his hurried pace, ignoring the brown-haired boy.

'Alright, don't have to be so rude,' Kira thought to himself. He bent over and picked up his things. As he straightened himself upright again something caught his eye.

Just out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of color flowing in the breeze.

Kira turned his head quickly to his left. Amongst the movement of people he saw just one women. A princess to his eyes. She had very long flowing hair that amazingly was all evenly pink. It was caught in the wind, blowing behind her as she moved along the store fronts. Kira had never seen anyone like her before.

The woman appeared to be young like him. From what he could see, she was wearing a summer dress that fit nicely over her slim figure. There appeared to be some sort of broach or something in her hair. Kira wished he could see a her face better.

But he just stood there watching as she walked along the crowd. Eventually the woman vanished amongst the people and the world seemingly came alive again.

"Pink hair huh? Never seen anything like that before," he whispered to himself.

Then Kira remembered he was walking to his college. Turning his head Kira saw that Athrun was waiting to cross the street ahead, seemingly unknowing that his friend was not following behind.

Kira then felt something to his right. He looked over and saw, in the mix of the crowd looking at the stores, a young blonde looking towards the road. It was his sister Cagalli, holding her bag of books under her arm. He glanced quickly at Athrun then back at Cagalli.

She had tried to hide it but Kira knew. He walked over to her and gave her a poke in the shoulder.

Cagalli turned, looking startled. "Hey, um, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Kira responded. Gesturing forward, "How about we walk to school together. I'm sure Athrun would like that."

"What do you mean by that, huh?" she questioned, blushing a bit. The siblings had always been shy about the ones they liked, but with Cagalli it tended to turn towards friendly anger.

"Oh nothing. Now come on or else we'll both be late," Kira said as he gave her a push. They soon joined up with Athrun and the three of them walked along towards the campus. They lightly chatted the rest of the few blocks before reaching their campus.

Yet the whole time Kira's mind was never quite there. The images of the women with the pink hair were stuck inside of his mind.

'I'll probably never see her again,' he thought. 'If only I had seen her face. Oh well, guess another chance missed.'


	2. Chapter 1: Beginning

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it. Enjoy:

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Chapter 1: Beginning

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It was the final class of that day for the two friends. The lecture of Professor Ramius was winding down to a close.

The class was located in a large auditorium as it was a general history course. But on this friday the room was feeling rather empty. A three day weekend was ahead and some of students had decided to take an early start.

Kira let out a slight yawn. He had stayed up late last night messing with some new OS code for his computer. It was a hobby of his that consumed a bit too much time.

This day had been spent mostly going through the classes in a mindless fashion. Kira had pushed aside the images of the woman he had seen earlier. It had just been a random chance encounter. But he had always been shy, even if another moment, a better moment were to come, he would probably just watch her once more. Kira again pushed the train thoughts away.

Picking up his pen he continued to write the notes from what the Professor was saying.

-After the Junius affair, creation of Zeonic Alliance of Freedom and Transition

-pushed for more open government and end to civil conflict

-many intellectuals in the movement

Professor Ramius stepped aside from her podium. "Well that will be all for today. Everyone enjoy your weekend," she said to her students. The auditorium became a mess of noise from everyone getting up to leave.

Athrun stood up and gathered his things. "Well done for the day. Want to go get something to eat?"

Kira stretched out his arms. "Yea but can't stay too long, have to go to my internship later."

"With the phantom professor?" Athrun asked sarcastically.

"Hey Dr. Morganrate is just a very busy man, that's all. So lets go grab a burger." The two friends walked down the stairs and out into the hallway. The building was busy as many classes were letting out at the same time.

Outside a young man of green hair ran over to them. "Hey Athrun," he called out.

"Oh hey Nicol," Athrun replied, giving him a high-five.

"So you coming to practice latter?" the green haired kid asked.

"Yea I should be there. We were on our way to get some food if you want to come as well."

"No thanks, I'm late for piano practice," Nicol replied.

"You sure keep yourself busy don't you?" Athrun joked.

"Well have to keep oneself busy while we are still living after all," he responded as he ran off, waving.

The two friends continued to walk along, away from the campus. The sky above was a wide open sea of blue. Not a single cloud to be seen above the buildings. The college itself stood in the center of the city, mixed in with the various buildings of the sprawling metropolis.

"So what are you going to be doing this weekend?" asked Athrun, moving through the sidewalk full of people.

"Don't know. Haven't really given it all much thought to be honest," Kira replied.

"I thought you were going to tutor to that one girl with the long red hair."

Kira looked over to his friend as they walked. "Oh um Flay. Yea she did want to study some. But I think I'm just going to call it off."

"Why is that? Two weeks ago you used to always talk about how pretty she looked."

"That hasn't changed. Guess it just feels like she's not ever going to be interested in me beyond someone who can teach her stuff," Kira responded.

"Don't look so gloomy," Athrun said as he shook Kira. "Never know what she might really be thinking. And not that I'm the best for giving advice with women problems. Hell, I'm more shy than you around them."

"Is that why you stutter around my sister then?" Kira asked with a smile.

Athrun's face turned a bit red as he tried to look away. "Uh what? I don't know what you mean by that."

"Come on Athrun, I've known you since we were just little kids."

"Yes but before we started college this year, the two of us hadn't seen each other in a long time."

Kira nodded. "True. I still do have the image of you in that weird green outfit you used to wear."

Athrun gave Kira a push, "Hey shut about that already. I told you, I had to wear it for school."

"Yea except I'm sure you still have it hanging in your closet."

They joked around some more with each other as they crossed the various roads to their favorite local restaurant. The Archangel, a place for the young and old alike to enjoy the a quick meal.

It was half patio, half indoors. Not too many people were there at that time. The two friends sat at a long table outside by the street. The sidewalk was busy with people in the lively city. Kira liked to sometimes sit and watch all the different people walk by.

Athrun spoke up. "So I hear there was another protest at the Central Gardens today."

"Yea they sometimes even march down this street. Can be rather annoying, especially with all the cops that will be around. Then this place gets all crowded, hard to just sit and enjoy the peace."

"It has been pretty interesting living in this city."

"Lots of people, lots of new experiences, lots of surprises," Kira said randomly.

"The first day of school fit that profile considering I ran into you suddenly. I was so surprised to meet you at my college."

Kira smiled as he remember, "Yea when I first saw you I didn't even believe it was you. I was just helping Ramius carry somethings too. Didn't even know who she was, she just randomly asks me for help."

"Well you know her, she is not exactly a by-the-book teacher."

The waitress had by now come to them. They ordered their usual burgers and drinks. It never took long to get ones food at the Archangel. As they sipped on their drinks and ate their food, the two joked about the craziness of that first day they had met each other after many years of living far apart. The two seemingly became best friends once again in a moment, as if all that time living different lives had not really changes who they were.

Time was seeming to progress rather quickly. As they finished up their food, the conversation had moved on to the classes they shared. But as they chatted, Kira suddenly remembered about the girl with the pink hair. He didn't know why it suddenly popped into his head, but just tried to ignore the mental images.

But once again Kira caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. He turned to look. Through the crowd of people walking along the sidewalk next to the restaurant, he saw a girl with long pink hair. This time though he saw her more clearly and from the front.

'Could it be her? No it couldn't. Or is it?' he questioned himself in his mind.

Kira was looking at her when she stopped her slow paced walk and turned to look in their direction. She suddenly smiled and walked over quickly.

Athrun noticed his friend's pensive look. He turned to see what Kira was looking at. It was a pink haired girl in a summer dress, a very familiar girl at that.

"Hey Athrun, it is so nice to see you again!" she said, waving her hand high in the sky as she came over to them.

Kira could not believe it. He turned to look at Athrun who was sporting a rather shocked look on his face.

"Lacus? It is you," Athrun said with disbelief.

"Why yes. I am so very surprised to have run into you like this. I would have never guessed that in this big city I would have run across you."

"Yea but it's good to see you. Here, sit down," Athrun said as he scooted over.

"Why thank you," Lacus replied, seating herself very properly. Her face was light up with her simple smile. Athrun's expression had turned to one of mild confusion. Kira still had his mouth a bit open, moving his stares between the two people on the other side of the table.

Athrun then introduced his two friends to each other. "Kira, this is Lacus. Lacus, this is my old friend Kira."

"How nice to meet you," Lacus said with a smile. Her pink hair seemed so smooth as it strands of it blew gently in the breeze.

"Um yea. It's... it's good to meet you," Kira replied, stumbling over his words. He didn't know what to do, thinking how to present himself. But it seemed a bit like a dream, and once again the rest of the world was fading away from his mind. Now there was just his friend Athrun and this women that had to be the same one he had seen that morning.

"Now that I think about it, Athrun had mentioned you before," she said looking over to Kira.

With her looking at him, he now wished he had combed his hair. "We're old friends. Um, like Athrun had said," Kira smiled quickly, finding himself nervous.

Athrun spoke up now. "I met Kira here rather unexpectedly at our campus, much like how you just happen to meet up with us."

"My how well fortune meets us. So are the two of you on a break from the college?" Lacus asked.

"Actually our classes are done for the day and so we usually come here to eat our lunch. Speaking of which, I need to head out or else I will be late." Athrun dug around in his pockets for his wallet.

"It's so sad that you must leave after such a short meeting," she told him. She frowned slightly but still seemed to radiate something to Kira. He didn't know what it was or why he was so affected by it.

And so Kira sat quietly, still wondering how things had worked out this way. And also wondering how the two knew each other. But it seemed he would not be getting those answers just yet.

"So by the way, why are you in the city?" Athrun asked quickly as he gathered his school things together.

"Oh my father and I now live here. We moved just the other day though, so I have spent most of my time walking about like I was before I came upon you two," she responded.

"Here, let me give you my number then. You can call me later and we can more properly catch up." Athrun was seeming a bit more polite in his speech than usual to Kira. Maybe this was a past girlfriend that he had just never mentioned, not that he was the most talkative person either.

Athrun proceed to tare a piece of paper from his note book and scribbled his phone number quickly. Lacus received it with a smile and a thank you. She folded it neatly and placed it inside of her purse.

"I'm sorry but I have to go now. My coach wanted us there early today, so I have to go warm up. See you Kira. And nice seeing you again Lacus, give me a call later." Athrun stood up and waved to his two friends.

"Good bye Athrun. Have a good day out there," Lacus said to him, waving back and smiling once more.

"See you later," Kira spoke up, watching his friend move off.

Athrun walked out into the sea of people.Now at the table was just Kira and a smiling Lacus. A pink haired princess was seated in front of him. This was a dream wasn't it? Yet he was not waking up.

"So tell me about yourself Mr. Kira," Lacus suddenly said.

Gone from Kira's mind was the fact that his internship was expecting him soon. Gone as well was the fact that Athrun had seemed a bit stranger to him around this girl. Gone also was the fact that he had never expected to see her after that morning. All that was in his mind was the thoughts of how he was now sitting with a women he found to be beautiful. And apparently she had no problems sitting here and talking with him.

Where were things to go from here then?


	3. Chapter 2: Stepping Onto the Sand

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

Note: Thanks for all the reviews, good to know people enjoyed what I wrote so far. I am sort of writing this as I go, so I don't exactly know how it will end. But it will probably be a few more chapters at least. Enjoy:

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Chapter 2: Stepping onto the Sand

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Capital City: the largest city in the entire nation. The metropolis was the center of government and culture. One fourth of the nations people lived inside the official territory of the capital. With so many buildings, so many streets and avenues, so many places one could be at any given moment, it seemed almost unbelievable that now, twice, had Kira Yamato ran into an unexpected person that would change things in his life.

Of course this time it was a women, not his best friend from his youth. And she was looking right at him with silvery eyes that seemed as if they could never be sad.

"Well um, I'm a computer science student over at the college. I don't really play any sports, just have this internship over at the technology building," he said in response to her question.

Lacus nodded. "So do you enjoy the job?"

"It's nice. I get to work with many friends of mine on some interesting robotic engineering research," he replied.

"And so how do you know Athrun?" she asked.

"We met while he was just a little kid, attending the Copernicus School. We became like close brothers soon after and stayed that way for years. But when things got a little hectic a couple of years ago my parents decided to move away. I lost contact with Athrun till we met up suddenly at the college on my first day."

Lacus smiled. "My how good for you both then. But are you best friends once more then?"

"Yea. Things sort of just went back to how they were, except with us just being older," he replied.

"How nice to have such a friend for so long."

"Well guess we are lucky," Kira said as he looked around. By this time the Archangel was becoming rather crowded, so he instinctively asked, "should we go somewhere else? This place is getting packed."

"That sounds nice; where shall we go to?" Lacus replied with cheer.

Kira realized that the easy going conversation had made him lower his guard. But this was a girl that interested him, so where was he going to take her? He sat pensive for a moment, asking: "well where have you been so far?"

"Oh mostly just the streets in this area but I found for the most part there are just shops here. Perhaps you know somewhere nice and new to me?"

Suddenly Kira had a thought. He wasn't quite sure whether to pursue it, but seemed it was worth a shot. "Well have you been down to the sea?"

"The Aprilius Sea?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded. "It's a short bus ride away, if you are interested in seeing some new scenery." He was a bit tense, wondering if this friend of Athrun's would enjoy something like that.

"Let us do that then. Lead the way Mr. Kira," she said with her seemingly constant joy.

They proceeded to leave the store, making a bit of small talk about their destination. The bus stop was two blocks down from the Archangel. They waited in line patiently as the city bus pulled up. As per the typically afternoon most of the seats were taken.

Lacus found herself a single seat. Kira stood beside her, holding on to the railing above them. As the bus drove around Lacus watched out the window with great interest.

She sat so neatly, Kira thought to himself. Lacus had a slender figure and smooth, light skin. She wore a broach on the side of her head that was like a golden wave. But that was about all the decor she wore: no earrings or necklaces. She was just naturally pretty he said to himself.

At times she would point out something, looking up at him. He would respond, either laughing or explaining or just nodding his head. Kira began to notice how casual they had become after such a short amount of time. Something about her put him at ease. But it seemed like it was an aura that would calm anyone.

"Our stop is the next one," he told her as the bus pushed away from the curb.

"So we are almost there," Lacus smiled as she looked ahead.

The Aprilius Sea was a large sea that the north of the country basically wrapped around. Capital City was started as a major port long ago and grew to become the capital of the nation when it was formed. Across the sea were the Numa territories. At the moment things were calm there but they had not always been as such.

The Bus pulled aside and came to a stop. Kira took Lacus' hand, helping her get up from her chair. She stepped out in front and the two walked out of the bus. The buildings had began to thin out ahead of them. Kira pointed to an old storage building that had been converted to a museum.

"Once we get around that you'll be able to see it," he told her.

She smiled in reply as the two headed towards the building. The sun was beginning to move lower by this time. But the sky was still an open blue for the most part.

Kira said a little joke as they walked along the front of the museum. Lacus was giggling slightly when she suddenly stopped. They had reached the corner of the building and now the view had opened up.

She was lost in it all, with an expression of awe in her face. The concrete sidewalk ended a few meters ahead. Past that sat a long stretch of brown sand. And farther out was the large sea. It was a seemingly endless expanse of dark blue water. A fuzzy line marked the horizon where the two sets of blue met. Only a few large ships dotted the waters.

The two were looking outwards when Lacus suddenly took a hold of Kira's hand. She turned to him, smiling with her eyes seemingly closed. Kira stood rather confused for a moment in his shyness. Without saying a word Lacus raced forward, pulling him along.

She stopped where the sand began. There Lacus pulled off her sandals and placed them on the sidewalk. "Watch these for me?" she asked, still smiling.

"Um sure," he replied.

Lacus began to step out onto the sand with her bare feet. It looked as if she was taking very cautious steps, moving without any hurry. Kira stood calmly, taking in all the scenery around them.

A slight breeze was blowing in from the sea. Beside the birds there was not noticeable noises like when they had been in the city. Here things were much more calm. Even the boats out at sea seemed to move with patients.

Lacus by now had gone quite a bit down the beach and was walking parallel to the horizon. Kira watched as she took each step slowly. But then he began to understand why she moved like that. She was not being cautious, but instead feeling each step as if it had been the first.

The wind was blowing across her, moving her dress in waves. Her hair was doing much the same. She pulled some of it behind her ear and turned to look at him.

For a moment when she looked at Kira, Lacus had a face of slight surprise. Then she smiled at him and turned to continue her walk along the sand.

Kira watched her pace along the sand some more. He was wondering why she had seemed to of been a bit surprised. Then he noticed something about himself. Kira was smiling. It wasn't something he did often, but here on this beach he had a slight but noticeable smile all because of a young woman that was just simply stepped along the sand.

The two were there for about half an hour with Kira just watching and Lacus enjoying walking on sand. Neither of them really took notice of the time.

Suddenly the phone in Lacus' purse rung. She stopped her walking and answered it. "Hello?... Yes... Oh I am at the sea... Yes I can meet you there, it is no problem... Good bye then."

Kira looked out into the endless sea and down the beach. No one was around near them. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, still tired from the night before.

When he turned to look forward, Lacus was walking up to his spot. "Well Mr. Kira, it seems I must be going now."

He smiled at her. "Alright then let's go back to the bus station." Kira reached down and picked up her sandals.

Lacus sat down on the concrete and brushed the sand off her feet with her hands. She took the sandals with a thank you and slipped them. Once again Kira took Lacus' hand and helped her to her feet. The two walked away from the beach side by side.

As they walked back Lacus asked how could she get to the Ame-no-Mihashira Hotel. After taking some moments to remember where it was, Kira said he could take her on the various bus routes. Lacus protested, not wanting to make him go out of his way, but Kira insisted. He couldn't let a friend of Athrun's become lost in this big city. And so after a moment with a pensive look on her face, Lacus agreed.

They had to switch buses at two points, but the the trip did not take too long. Lacus had not said who she was going to meet, and Kira didn't feel like prying. Things had remained mostly quiet for the two on the trip.

The streets were filled with people still and the streets filled with cars. Things were always busy in this city.

When the bus neared the final stop, Lacus thanked Kira for accompanying her. He had wanted to walk her to the hotel but Lacus told him that he had gone far enough. She would arrive safely, Lacus assured him. Kira didn't put up any fight, agreeing to it.

"Thank you much for today Mr. Kira. It was a very nice afternoon," she said with her smile.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he replied to her.

"Yes we shall have to do it again sometime. So good bye," she said with a wave. She moved to the front of the bus and just as she was leaving, Lacus turned and smiled towards him. And then she was gone into the crowd of people on the sidewalk.

Kira sat down at the now open seat and sighed slightly.

The bus ride back to his apartment was uneventful. He watched the sky darken and the city light up. Kira soon arrived at his apartment and went in. Normally by now he would be preparing some instant soup and booting up his computer; an almost daily routine. But instead he just sat in his chair and stared out the small window of his bedroom.

Kira was unsure for how long he had stared at nothing in particular, dreaming away at the previous events. Eventually though his body demanded some food. And so he went to make his soup and hit the power button to his computer.

As Kira stirred the soup, he suddenly remembered that today he was supposed to have gone to his internship job. He stopped moving the spoon for a moment, watching the noodles move around and slow to a stop.

Kira thought about the smile of the girl with the pink hair. He would of hated himself if he had gone to the job instead of spending time with Lacus. It had been more than worth missing a day of work. Much more.

And so he continued to stir the soup, dreaming away at all the possibilities of what might happen next.


	4. Chapter 3: The Pisces?

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

note: Thanks once more for all the reviews, really glad so many people enjoy this story.

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Chapter 3: The Pisces?

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Kira's head was feeling rather heavy. He squirmed around under the bed sheet for a moment then reached out and grabbed his bed-side clock. It was one in the afternoon. How long had he been up last night on his computer?

'Oh well, just another weekend,' he thought to himself.

He laid there for another moment, looking at his white walls. Then Kira finally picked himself up and stood next to his bed. Over to his right was a partial opened window covered by curtains. The white curtains bounced with the cool breeze from the outside world. Kira gave out a yawn as he watched; shuffling his hair back and forth.

With that Kira walked into his bathroom, took off the only piece of clothing he had on, his boxers, and turned on the shower. 'Just another weekend,' he thought once more.

After running through his normal wake-up routine, eating some breakfast, and watching a little television, Kira decided to go to the store. A few flights of stairs down and he was outside the building, amongst the busy city sidewalks. The small store was just at the corner of his block. There he picked up some snacks, some bread, milk, and a few other things.

On the way back he noticed the sun starting to cast longer shadows. In a few hours it would be starting to get dark again and he had awoke not too long ago.

Kira reached his apartment once more but soon after opening the door the phone began to ring. Surprised by the break in the typical silence, he quickly placed the bags on the only table in the apartment.

He then went over and picked up the phone, hastily, asking "Hello?"

"Hey Kira, glad I finally caught you!" said a woman's voice that he recognized, but was not expecting to hear on the other side of phone. It was Flay Allster, and he was positive she was calling to get some help with her studies.

"Oh hi Flay. So I guess you want help with your homework?" he asked.

"Yes, I do. You know I learn best from you, so please help me?" she asked sweetly.

"Alright, I guess I can Flay. Do you want to come over now?"

"Yea if that's alright. I am already over by your side of town since I was at the gym," she said.

"Well then I'll be here, ring when you get to the door," Kira said with a sigh.

"Great, see you soon," she replied, very happy to his agreement.

Kira hung up the phone and looked across his apartment. He went back to the bags and put away the contents.

Going through his school books he picked up the math book and his notebook, placing them on the table. Then he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. But he thought, why is he caring? He shouldn't, Kira told himself. Yet he did, and hence, after thinking for a few moments, changed his shirt. She was still one of the prettiest women he knew so part of him cared, even if Flay only wanted Kira for help with homework.

He was flipping through the channels on the tv, waiting, when the buzzer rang. Kira walked over to the intercom and asked who it was. Flay answered, and so he pressed the button to open the door. Kira then waited another minute or two for the knock on the door.

When he opened it, there stood the tall red-haired Flay. Kira was in a bit of shock, as she was not wearing what she usually wore. She said hello and thanked him again. He replied with a hi, and closed the door behind her.

Kira discretely gave Flay another looked over as she set down her books on the table. Flay was just wearing some very small and rather tight workout shorts with a large sweater. He was not used to her showing off so much of her legs. She might be a very sought after girl in the college, but still, Flay usually wore dresses.

As she turned around to address him, Kira looked up attentively. "I was leaving the gym when I remembered that I still had my books in my car, so hope you don't mind the short notice call," she said, apologizing a bit more.

"Oh it's no problem," he replied, walking over and sitting down across from her.

Flay opened up her book and flipped through her notes. She began to tug at her collar. "I'm feeling rather warm in here," she said, looking around the room.

Suddenly she grabbed onto her sweater and pulled it off her body. Kira watched, in more shock, as all she had on underneath was a sports bra.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, noticing his reaction.

"Oh uh no, make yourself comfortable," Kira replied, looking down at his notes quickly. Part of him wished she had not just done that, as now he was definitely seeing more of her than he ever had. But of course, there was the other part of his mind that was glad he was getting to see her like this.

With the two sitting at the table they began to work out the first assignment which was a long word problem. Math had never been one of Flay's strong points. Much of this time for Kira was spent trying not to stare where he shouldn't. It wasn't too easy at times since he found her to be a sexy girl; yet there she was with just a rather revealing sports bra and nothing more on her torso.

But the math problems helped keep his mind focused, he was really good with math. The two worked through the first problem and moved on to the next. This one was more challenging to Flay, using a different formula than the previous. He was patient, trying to explain how it worked, but it was not connecting in Flay's mind.

"Here, let's start over. It's important to know what you need to plug into the formula and where," Kira said. He went through the first steps again but Flay was becoming frustrated.

"Alright, let me come over there and you show me step by step," she said suddenly, getting up from her chair. Kira sat calmly, nervously, nodding slightly and trying to keep focused. But he now had the visual reminder of how little she was wearing bellow her torso as well.

She sat at the seat next to his, looking at the notebook. Kira began going through the basic movements of the problem, hoping she actually understood it this time.

"Oh so that's a negative exponent," she said, reaching over to point at the specific area she spoke of. In doing so, though, her chest was suddenly pressing up against his arm. Kira could feel the fabric of the sports bra against him and the pressure from what was being held behind it.

He sat uneasily, responding shyly, "Um uh, yea. The other equation has the positive exponent."

"Alright, I think I understand now where I went wrong," Flay said with joy, getting up and walking back to her side of the table. The event had just been simple and casual to Flay unlike her classmate.

Kira sighed, slouching slightly in his chair. 'It's going to be a long day,' he thought to himself.

And it was, at least to Kira. Uneasy situations kept arising for the young man as he was not used to being in these situations. And Flay seemed to be completely unaware of how it was making Kira discomforted. They did eventually manage to get through the problems, with Flay apparently understanding everything. It was a bit longer than their usual study sessions but by evening things were rapping up.

"Well thank you so much, this will be a great help," Flay said as she put back on her sweater. "I should be going now, I have a party tonight at my friends house."

"Ok. And don't forget to study the equations again," Kira said, his mind more at ease now.

"Don't worry I won't. And I don't mean to be rude with not asking you to come to the party, it's just they are only letting people on the guest list in," she responded with a smile.

"Um think nothing of it, you just go and enjoy yourself," he said as he opened the door for her. What she said was rather odd to Kira though. She never seemed to care about inviting him or apologizing like that. 'Oh well, maybe she is trying to be nicer,' he thought to himself.

"You have a nice night Kira, I'll see you in class on tuesday," she said with a wave.

"Yea see you," he replied, waving back. Kira closed the door as she walked off down the hallway.

Kira let out a sigh. It was finally over. He collected his things from the table and placed them back in the pile of books and notes he had in his bedroom.

Outside there was the various noises of traffic and people wandering the streets. The liveliness there would not be quieting down for many hours. But inside his apartment it was quiet once more. Kira sort of missed having a girl in his place, even if it was complicated Flay.

He laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Two days there were rather different from the usual had passed. First the sudden meeting with the strange but enticing pink-haired girl. And then today the rather revealing meeting with the sensual red-haired girl from his classes. Two pretty women, so very different from each other.

Kira wondering if Athrun and Lacus had met up like they had briefly planned to. If so, what, if anything, had Lacus said about him? And was she Athrun's ex-girlfriend? He really didn't know anything about Lacus; she just seemed to attract him on many levels.

Of course there was also Flay. It would be difficult to get the recent mental pictures out of his head. She was wearing so very little in his apartment. And then got so very close to him.

He sat up. 'Well time to do other things then,' Kira told himself. With that he went to go surf his typical forum, read some news, and later make a sandwich. Things were heading towards another late night for the brown haired boy.

The night came and the night went. And so once again Kira awoke to his head feeling rather heavy. The bed sheet covering his body were in disarray. He reached out and took hold of his clock. It was one-thirty in the afternoon this time. He groaned. Kira laid there for a few more minutes until his semi-sleep was interrupted by the phone ringing.

'It better not be Flay. I don't think I can take another day of that,' he thought to himself.

Kira got out of bed and quickly ran over to the phone.

"Hello?" he asked in the best voice he could muster.

"Hey Kira, you just wake up?" asked Athrun over the phone.

"Yea you could say that. What's up?" Kira replied.

"Well I was going to meet up with Lacus over at her new place today. On my way over though she called me and asked me to invite you. How about it?"

"Oh really? Well... sure, I don't have any plans," Kira said, surprised.

"Good good. You being there would probably help make things easier. Wish I called earlier but I'm already very close and its way across town from you, so how about I just give you the address?" he said.

"Alright, that's cool," Kira said through a yawn. He wrote down the address and told Athrun he would head over soon.

Athrun replied, "Sounds good. And I heard about what you two did on Friday, lover boy."

"Oh no! I was just showing her around and..." Kira replied quickly, nervously.

Athrun laughed. "Kira Kira, you never change. Listen, I'll see you there."

"Sure thing," Kira said with a sigh and hung up the phone.

He rubbed his hand through his hair as he walked over to the bathroom. Kira looked at his disheveled hair and sleepy eyes in the mirror. Looking down he read Lacus' address to himself in his head once more. 'Huh. That's in a very nice neighborhood, isn't it?'

Kira looked again at the mirror and thought to himself, 'what should I wear?' He suddenly looked puzzled. That was a rather odd question to pop into his head, he thought to himself. But then Kira realized that he did actually care.

And so he put down the paper with the address, turned on the shower and started his day.


	5. Chapter 4: A Meeting Amongst Friends

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

Note: So I turned on anonymous reviews like someone suggested, still fiddling around with the site. To answer a question, yes this is a Kira & Lacus fic, but who knows where it will go and when it will get there. Enjoy this slightly longer chapter.

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Chapter 4: A Meeting Amongst Friends

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Kira was looking around his bathroom, wishing he actually owned a comb or some device to help straighten his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror, giving up on the search and used his hands as best as he could. Kira was wearing a long-sleeved, button up white shirt and some jeans. It seemed to be nice but casual. Not that he really owned much that was nice.

After some attempts to modify his hair, Kira gave up and walked out of the bathroom. But as he was picking up his keys from atop his television the buzzer rang. Someone was downstairs.

'What now?' he sighed. Kira had been hurrying to get over to Lacus' place as soon as possible.

"Hello?" Kira asked into the intercom.

"Hey let me up," a female voice responded. It was Cagalli.

"Well I was on my way down, I'll just meet you there," he told her.

"No I'm coming up! Now open the door," she demanded.

"Fine," Kira said with a bit of aggravation.

With that he pressed the button to open the door downstairs. He then walked over, unlocked his door and sat down to wait. He really didn't want to be waiting.

Soon enough Cagalli opened the door without even knocking first. "Here you go, some money from mom," she said, placing a few bills on the table.

"Oh thanks," Kira replied, forgetting about his sister's trip to their parents house friday evening.

"You know you should go back home once in a while yourself too so that I'm not having to answer questions about you constantly," Cagalli told him with a bit of her usual anger.

"Yea yea." Kira just waved it off. "Listen, I'm in a bit of a hurry right now and need to get going."

"Oh yea? Where are you heading off to?" she asked, giving him a look over at his non-typical clothes.

"Going to meet up with Athrun and his friend at her house." Kira took the money and placed it in his usually hiding place on the nearby shelf.

"A friend? From like school?" she asked, with her voice a bit toned down now, as she watched Kira move around.

Suddenly inside of his mind he had an idea. Being around Lacus again would probably make him even more shy than before, so another person there might help... And it never hurt to further his attempts to get Cagalli and Athrun together.

"I... um she's an old friend. Hey so why don't you come along?" he said with a slight smile.

"What? I've got things to do," Cagalli responded.

"Come on, you don't." Kira grabbed her by the arm, took hold of his keys, and began to walk towards the door. He anticipated her response but that wasn't going to stop him.

"Wait I can't go dressed like this," she protested.

"You look fine. And we're going, no excuses sis."

Cagalli eventually gave in. Kira wondered if she would of changed anyways since her typical clothing was what she had on now: a small t-shirt and jeans. Of course she might have worn one of her few skirts since this was a meeting with Athrun. But that would have made things a bit too obvious as she still attempted to hide the very obvious feelings towards him.

The two sat mostly quietly on the bus ride. It would be a long trip over to where Lacus was. Maybe now he could learn something about her; at least by seeing where she lived. But who knows when he would get another chance to be alone with her he thought.

Cagalli quietly looked outside, lost in thought herself. Kira at one point ruffled her hair with his hand, trying to be playful. She looked at him angrily and made a fist. He faked a flinch and just smiled at her. But Cagalli quickly went back to being lost in her own world. She apparently had many things on her mind.

They pasted by so many buildings, cars, businessmen, shoppers, students, protesters, and other busses. Kira had never been to this part of town and was wondering what to expect. But currently it felt like they were on some sort of city tour.

Hopefully bringing Cagalli along was a good idea, he thought to himself. Kira was sure Anthrun wouldn't mind but what if someone else was there? But he was really wanting to push Athrun and Cagalli together. It was obvious they liked each other, no matter how different the two were.

At first the idea of them being a couple looked to be trouble, with his sister and his best friend hooking up. When he realized how they would both act a bit different around each other he didn't know what to think. But if something bad happened then Kira would be stuck in the middle. Yet they just seemed to fit naturally with each other, so he might as well try.

Kira had always wished he had found a girl that just seemed to fit with him.

"Ours is the next stop," he informed his sister.

Cagalli shifted her purse from her side to her lap and quickly brushed some hair from her face. Kira just smiled at her and got up from his chair.

Outside there were fewer people on the sidewalks. The buildings looked more like office buildings than the shops that populated much of the city. The bus slowed and pulled to the side of the street. The two siblings walked out with a few other folks.

"It should be two blocks down this way," he said to Cagalli. She just nodded, walking slightly behind him.

It did not take long to find the place. And what a place it was. While the house itself was nice, it was nothing big. What really awed the siblings was the large amount of land it stood on. The grounds were huge and rather intimidating.

Kira stepped up to the gate and pressed on an intercom. An unknown voice asked who it was. He told the person that he was Kira Yamato and was here to see Lacus.

"Oh yes, she is expecting you," the voice told him.

"Well at least that was easy," Kira said quietly to himself feeling a bit nervous.

The gate opened up for them. They headed towards the front door, admiring their surrounding. A servant told them that Lacus and her friend were around the back. The two followed the instructions given to them, eventually finding the door that opened to the large expanse behind the house.

Sitting outside at a small, circular table were Lacus and Athrun. Lacus was waving her hand in the air. "Hello Mr. Kira, welcome to my my home. I see you brought a friend." She was as cheerful as always.

The siblings walked over to the table, with Kira responding, "Hello Lacus, Athrun. Lacus, this is my sister Cagalli. I hope you don't mind me bringing her along."

"Not at all. It is very nice to meet you!" Lacus said with her usual glee. She shook Cagalli's hand as all four stood around the table.

"Well then let us sit down, there should be more tea coming soon," Lacus informed everyone.

And so the group sat down around the table. Athrun was being quiet, surprised at Cagalli's presence. Cagalli herself was being shy, seated next to Athrun and across from this attractive 'old friend' of his. Kira was also a bit nervous, seated next to the pink haired girl that he was attracted to. Lacus in contrast was simply smiling, seeming to enjoy the added company.

The sun was still high in the sky with some white clouds floating around the blue. It was another nice day for four friends to be outside. The conversations started out light, mostly about the trip over to this side of town.

Eventually Lacus began to ask about Cagalli.

"So do you attend the same school as these two do?"

"Yea I'm actually Kira's twin so we've basically always been in the same school, same level, since we started," she responded.

"My, Kira never mentioned he had a twin sister such as yourself," Lacus said.

"Yea I bet he didn't." She gave him a soft smack to the head. Kira protested with a soft 'hey.'

Lacus let out a soft giggle. "Yes now I see it, you two are certainly related."

They both blushed slightly. While it was true that the two were very close brother and sister, to a stranger it might be hard to see. They really did not look anything alike.

"So you have a very nice house," Cagalli said.

"Thank you," Lacus replied with a smile. "I was quite surprised when we moved here. Seems a bit much at times but I certainly enjoy the view."

"Yea it seems really beautiful," the blonde responded.

"Why don't we show them the lake?" Athrun spoke up finally.

"Yes, let's! Come Ms. Cagalli," Lacus said to the woman across from her.

"You mean your house goes down to that lake over there? I've got to see this," Cagalli said, standing up.

The women walked on ahead as the two men stayed behind for a moment and shook hands as if one had just arrived. "So how was your Saturday," Athrun asked.

"Eventful. Flay came over to study... in her work out clothes," Kira said as they began to walk towards the lake.

"Oh really? You must of enjoyed that." Athrun joked.

"Well lets just say it was both good and bad," Kira responded.

"So I didn't expect you to bring your sister along" Athrun said.

"She stopped by my place as I was leaving. Hope that's not a problem."

"No no... not at all. Cagalli does seem to be enjoying herself," Athrun said.

Kira nodded. "I hope I didn't cause any problems with what happened on Friday."

"Don't worry all the time," Athrun told him as he put his arm around Kira. "She actually talked about it for quite a while."

"Really?" was Kira's response, mostly a whisper though.

Ahead of them Lacus and Cagalli stood at a sort of balcony along the edge of the field. They seemed to be chatting about something. Cagalli waved to the two guys, yelling out "Kira, you have to check out this view."

Athrun pushed Kira up ahead. The view was unexpectedly nice for him. The lake was sat the middle of the city but seemed so distant from the metropolis that surrounded it. He could see all around the water's edge, with more houses bordering the lake.

Kira had slight sensation of something to his right. He turned to look, his mouth still wide open from gawking at the view. There was Lacus, smiling at him. Kira embarrassingly smiled back and looked forward once more.

The four stood there for a while. Eventually Lacus suggested they return to the table for more tea and so everyone began to walk back. Cagalli was now visibly smiling, a sharp turn from her shy attempts to keep her emotions hidden. She ran ahead of the group like a young child and stopped to spin around in a circle, yelling back to the friends, "this place is great! I wish I lived here." Lacus laughed and the others smiled.

When they returned there was new tea in the pot and two more cups at the table. The friends chatted some more about the weather, their classes, and again about the house. Lacus poured everyone tea as they talked. Things were much more light hearted now; even Kira joined in to the conversation.

"So why did your family move here Lacus?" he eventually got the nerve up to ask.

"Well my father was quite the politician you see. And so he decided to run for the national congress a few years ago and was elected recently. So I then decided to accompany him here," she said with a smile.

"Wait what's your last name?" Cagalli asked with a puzzled look.

"Clyne. My father is Siegal Clyne."

"Oh my god," Cagalli said in shock. And then she almost jumped across the table, shaking Lacus' hand. "I love that song you sang! I cannot believe this, why didn't you tell me Kira?"

Kira sat very confused, himself now puzzled. Athrun smiled, realizing his friend didn't know why Cagalli was reacting the way she was. "Lacus here," he said, addressing Kira, "wrote a very popular song not too long ago. She would sing it for her father's campaign."

"Oh wow," Kira responded. He felt a bit dumb about not knowing what it seemed everyone else did.

"It was really nothing. I am just glad I had the opportunity," Lacus said with modesty.

"I never thought I would meet you. How do you know her?" Cagalli suddenly asked Athrun. But without giving him a chance to respond, she turned back to the pink haired woman, "I have to hear you sing sometime!"

Lacus giggled. "I am sure you will have the opportunity. You have such interesting friends Athrun."

Athrun didn't respond, just smiled slightly. But Cagalli now wanted the answer to her earlier question. "So how did you two meet? You have to tell me everything," she said, taking her seat and turning towards Athrun.

Kira was also curious, but he had a more pressing problem. He really needed to use the bathroom and was getting tired of holding it.

He leaned over to Lacus, asking in a low voice where the bathroom was. Lacus told him where to go. As he got up to leave, Kira overheard Athrun saying that when he had moved, he was enrolled in the same school as Lacus.

Kira walked briskly into the house and after getting lost for a moment, found the right room. After relieving himself, and remembering to wash his hands, Kira stood in front of the mirror. He looked at himself and let out a sigh.

A moment passed and then he exited. But once again Kira got himself a bit lost and it was obvious he went the wrong way. He was wondering around the kitchen when Lacus came in holding a tray with the tea set. She smiled when she saw him.

"Oh uh... I seem to be lost," he informed her.

She giggled. "Yes it does seem to be that way. Can you move those magazines from the table there?" she asked him, gesturing with her head.

"Sure," he responded as he moved them aside.

She set down the tray. "It seemed best to leave you sister alone for a moment with Athrun."

"You shouldn't feel shy around my sister," Kira responded, not really understanding what the pink haired girl was telling him.

"Do not worry, I find your sister to be quite a nice person. But I can tell from the look in the eyes of Athrun when he sees her that maybe it would be best to give them a moment."

"Oh. You already noticed that they like each other?" he asked, a bit curious.

"Well I did know Athrun quite closely for some time," she said, smiling.

"Yea that would make sense." Kira trailed off. "So... thank you for inviting me, it's a very nice place you have here." He was trying to start small talk with the girl that stood alone with him in the room. After all he couldn't just go outside after what she had said so he might as well try to take advantage of the current situation.

"After our little journey on friday I felt I needed to invite you as well," Lacus said. She stood directly ahead of him with her hands clasped together in front. She was wearing a white dress on this day but again had no noticeable make-up or any jewelry on, just the small wave-like piece in her hair.

"Yea... Athrun said you enjoyed it which is... good." Kira thought to himself how dumb he was sounding. He really wished this didn't make him so uneasy, he did want to be here like this after all.

Lacus giggled, seeming to sense his shyness. "You are quite amusing Mr. Kira. So I take it you are bashful just like your friend out there?"

"Is it that obvious?" Kira responded with a slight smile, trying to stand still.

Lacus giggled again. "My my so you do not have a girlfriend?"

"No... I'm not with anyone right now," he told her casually. Course, Kira thought, had he ever really been with anyone? But he can't say things like that...

The pink haired girl interrupted his thoughts. "Well then, let me thank you for the wonderful time we shared in a more appropriate manner," she said. And with that Lacus took a few steps forwards towards the brown haired boy. He stood nervously, unsure of what she was doing.

Lacus stopped a step in front of Kira, looking into his eyes. He looked down into hers, wondering if there was something he was supposed to do. And with that she stepped up from her heals, stood on her toes, and pressed her lips up against his cheek for a second. Lacus did it all so quietly but Kira's mind focused on the sensation of soft lips kissing his skin. The second had passed and she rolled back down onto her heals.

He didn't move or say a word. His mouth was frozen slightly open as he looked down at Lacus. She smiled at Kira, with a slight giggle escaping her lips. A moment of silence passed as they just stood there; Lacus enjoying Kira's reaction and Kira rather shocked.

A voice from down the hallway broke the moment. "Kira?" It was Athrun.

"He is in here," Lacus yelled back, smiling at Kira once more. She turned and took the tray from the table, walking over to the sink.

Athrun and Cagalli entered the room. "So you get yourself lost?" he asked.

"Yea... got lost on the way back..." Kira responded. He tried to let out a slight laugh, but just sounded nervous.

He looked over at her, at the woman with the long pink hair. She was taking the tea cups and rinsing them in the sink. Kira watched her, his mind ignoring the others in the room. He brought up a hand and rubbed a finger along the area of the cheek where her lips had touched.

Kira's mind would unfreeze after a few moments and he would respond to the questions from his friend and sister. He was more at ease now he noticed. But Kira also noticed something that reminded him of that past friday: he had been smiling for a while now.


	6. Chapter 5: The Drive Back

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

Thanks for the more reviews.

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Chapter 5: The Drive Back

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The visitors did not stay much longer over at Lacus' house. It had been an enjoyable afternoon for the four. And no one seemed to have noticed, but all of them were smiling by the end of it.

By now the day was turning towards evening and so it was time to go. Both Athrun and Cagalli seemed to have things to attend to. Lacus was a bit saddened by their decision to leave; saying that they should do this again sometime soon. Kira thought to himself how, at least from what he had seen, that she always wants to be around company.

Athrun said he would drive the two siblings home. They began to thank Lacus for the hospitality, slowly progressing to the door. Kira wished he could have another moment alone with her to say something. Although he had no clue as to what he would say, or what he should say, but he still hoped for the opportunity.

Everyone said their goodbyes in their various ways. Athrun took Lacus' hand and bowed slightly. Cagalli shook her hand with great vigor once more, thanking repeatedly. Kira just waved, still shy when it came to the pink princess. Lacus waved and thanked them all for coming, standing at the door as they went down walkway towards the gate.

Kira walked a pace behind Athrun and Cagalli. Ahead he could see the many tall buildings of the city center off in the distance. Behind there stood a more open sky still filled with a deep blue. The brown-haired boy took a moment to turn and glimpse back. Lacus was still at the door and looked at him. She gave him her usual happy smile and a wave. Kira did the same, smiling and waving back, and even blushed slightly.

He turned back to his friend and sister. They were both lost in their own worlds it seemed.

The three went past the gate, its automated closing system kicking a moment after they walked past. The nice black car Athrun drove stood to their right. The top was down so Cagalli simply jumped into the back seat. The two friends walked to either side of the car and got in.

"Hey can you take me to the mall instead of my place?" Cagalli asked Athrun.

"The Valentine Mall?" he asked turning to her.

"Yea that one."

"Ok I'll head on over to there first then," Athrun replied.

The car sped away from the neighborhood of pristine houses and back into the usual crowded city center. No one said much of anything on the trip. Kira looked on ahead with his mind lost in thought. That pink haired girl and those seemingly soft little lips of hers...

Did Lacus mean anything special by that moment? Or was she just thanking him in her usual eccentric manner? But she had asked if he had a girlfriend before she kissed him. Yet again that might of been Lacus' way of making sure she didn't overstep herself. He always worried too much and never knew what to do in these situations Kira told himself.

He turned to look at Athrun. As he did though, it seemed as if Cagalli's hand had been on Athrun's shoulder and she was quickly removing it. Kira looked back at his sister but she just stared outwards, ignoring him. And his friend seemed to be much the same: looking outwards and not noticing his stare. Kira decided that he must be seeing things.

They were on more busy roads now. At the next block was the mall, it's courtyard full of people. The light ahead of them sat at red and the streets around were packed with cars.

"I'll just get out here, thanks for the ride," Cagalli said. She lifted herself out over the side of the car.

"See you then," Kira said as the two guys waved.

"Yea see you both later on," she responded with a slight grin. And with that Cagalli joined the crowd of people walking down the sidewalk.

The light turned green and the cars began to move ahead. The two friends quickly went back to thinking in their own world. But then Kira thought for a moment, 'Did she just say both?'

He turned to his friend to comment but before any words came out of his mouth Athrun interjected.

"So Kira, I probably should tell you something."

Kira quietly looked at his friend while Athrun intern was keeping his view fixed forward on the road.

"Well... When you and Lacus were inside the house together," Athrun said with another pause.

The car moved to a stop due to the red light ahead. The two friends now faced each other. "I figured you should know that I asked Cagalli out on a date."

Kira stared at Athrun for a moment. Then he leaned his head back and said: "finally."

Athrun looked puzzled but then noticed traffic was moving once more. He turned forward once more and drove. "What do you mean finally?" he asked his friend.

"I've been trying to get the two of you together for a while now. Since that day you two bumped into each other I've seen the looks you give her," Kira explained.

"Really?" Athrun was still surprised by the reaction. "I thought you would of found us dating as weird."

"At first I thought it would be. But you have to do what makes you happy," Kira said matter-of-factly.

"Good then. So you've tried to get us together?" Athrun asked with a small grin.

"I did bring her along for your birthday dinner after all," he replied.

They sat quietly for a moment. Kira then asked what their plans were. Athrun said would probably take her to the new Minerva restaurant and just walk along the riverside. Nothing too fancy he commented. Another moment of silence passed but Kira interjected once more.

"So you and Lacus are not in any relationship?" He had thought about asking this but wondering if its was the correct time to ask but maybe better to get it over with.

"Oh not at all. I wouldn't do that to your sister," Athrun replied.

"No I didn't mean in that way. I just still do not know how you two know each other," Kira said.

"Oh yea you left to use the bathroom when I told your sister. You see, I had moved and found myself at a new school. I really didn't know anyone, but it seemed like everyone knew me. Guess my father was becoming well known by then."

Kira sat quietly listening in.

"Apparently our parents got to know each other well. So they sort of set it all up and we had agreed to give it a shot. But you could say I was never very good at relationships. After I moved over here I felt really bad about how I sort of let it end. That's why I felt so awkward around her these days."

Kira noded. "I don't think she feels anything against you. She appears to be pretty understanding."

"Lacus seemed to have figured me out pretty well, while I never quite knew what to expect with her. She's good with people, after all she's already friends with you," Athrun said.

Kira looked on ahead, thinking of how he really was a friend with Lacus.

"You know she even told me that she was quite fond of you," Athrun added.

'Quite fond?' Kira thought to himself. It was a phrase he threw around in his mind for the remainder of the car ride. Traffic had been busy at that time but the trip was soon ending. Neither said much of anything for the rest of it. Athrun seemed to have his mind on the upcoming date with Cagalli while Kira was lost in thought about the pink princess.

They reached the street of Kira's apartment. He thanked Athrun for the ride and told him good luck with the date. Athrun simply said thanks.

"Oh and don't you hurt my sister," Kira said, trying to look mean.

"I knew you would say something like that," Athrun responded with a smile.

"It's apparently what a brother is supposed to say." Kira smiled back. "I'll see you around."

"See you at school," Athrun said, pulling away from the curb and driving off.

Kira looked down his street. The sun was hovering above the horizon and the sky was filled with orange and pink colors. He sighed slightly, walking on to his building.

Inside the apartment Kira found himself laying on the bed again. His mind was filled with the image of the woman in the white sun dress with the long pink hair. Maybe some day she would be laying next to him on this very bed.

'No no, that's a silly thought,' Kira told himself. Too far fetched to ever happen.

This was a very small apartment when compared to all Lacus had. Her room was probably as big as his place, he thought. Not that he had seem it, though, or even much of the inside of the house.

'What would it be like to date her?' Kira sked himself. Lacus always seemed so interested in all the world around her. But then again, what would it be like to go on any date? What would he do? Where would he take that person?

Kira ran his hand through his hair and decided to just go make some food. His mind would drift away from the girl he had met only two days before. Instead he focused again on his computer. The night set in as the sky outside went dark. More noises of busy cars and busy people came and went. By then Kira chose to go off to bed.

The next day arrived for him with the sound of birds chirping outside the window. He liked their songs but how did he wish they were not chirping outside his window at this hour.

Kira looked at his clock. It read twelve fifteen. 'Well, I guess they can chirp at this hour then,' he thought. Another day of sleeping in late.

The bed sheet was all balled up down by his legs. His skin had felt slightly chilled when he awoke. Kira rolled over onto his back, scratching lightly his bare belly.

"What am I going to do today?" he asked out-loud.

Maybe go the park, Kira thought. Yea the park, that's where he would go. He could take his laptop, get some work done outside today. It was a nice day, after a couple of nice days, and who knows what would happen on this holiday.


	7. Chapter 6: Out with Tolle and Mir

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes:

Lets see how my mixing of worlds experiment works out.

Also football means soccer (not american football)

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Chapter 6: Out with Tolle and Mir

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"Kira!" yelled out a familiar voice.

The brown-haired intended recipient was seated at a park table with his laptop open in front of him and a note pad in hand. A few small birds had been flying around each other playful not far from the table. Kira was intently watching them when he heard someone call out his name. His view shifted over to a man and a woman walking over towards him.

It was his friends: Miriallia and Tolle.

"You know the professor was looking for you on Friday," Tolle informed him.

"What more work? I still haven't finished what he gave me last time" Kira responded.

"The one day he shows up and you decide to skip out on us," Miriallia added.

"Yea I had something... important come up." Kira tried to sound assuring.

Mirriallia and Tolle, along with Sai and Kuzzey, worked at the same internship as Kira. Mir, as she was usually called, had been Tolle's girlfriend for many years now. Everyone would always see them together. They were like two friends that had become something more; seeming to fit each other well.

"So what you two doing?" Kira asked the couple.

Tolle turned to look at the park. "Oh you know, just decided to get out for a bit. Mir wasn't doing much so we decided to come out to the park. And I had a feeling we'd find you here."

Kira looked out at the park as well. "Yea well it is a nice day to be outside."

"What's all that noise coming from your computer about?" Tolle asked, noticing the ruckus emanating from the laptop.

"Oh just the news," Kira said with a sigh. "Seems the picketers got a bit out of control over by the docks yesterday."

Miriallia looked a bit saddened. "That's not too far from the university. I hope things don't continue to spread like this."

Tolle waved his hand in the air. "Oh I wouldn't worry. Times are just a bit tough for people at the moment. No one really wants a repeat of what happened."

Kira was again looking off into the distance. What Tolle had just said triggered in his mind a meeting long ago. Athrun and Kira were much younger, talking in a park much like this one. He remembered Athrun saying that his father was having him move back north. But Athrun was sure all the anger that was brewing would never come to a head. Kira had expected his family would move back as well but instead they went to the east islands to get away from all that was about to happen.

He had lost contact with Athrun after that point. But now the two were close friends once again, having met in Capital City as if by destiny.

Suddenly Kira's focus came to the face of Tolle right in front of his. Kira jolted back from the surprise.

"Stop spacing out on us like that," Tolle said standing up.

"Hey we're going to get a bite to eat at the Archangel, why don't you come with us?" Mir asked.

"Um sure," Kira said quickly, acting casual and gathering his things.

The three friends walked off from the pleasant park into the busy streets of the city. Several blocks away was their restaurant; their place of congregation. The sky was an open blue sea for another day. And the sidewalk was busy with life, even on this holiday. Kira walked a few steps behind his friends as he was still lost in thoughts of the past. So much had happened yet life continued on for everyone.

The Archangel was half full of people at this hour. The three went up to the front counter area where the bar was at. They could see into the kitchen from there, where the head chef was flipping a burger. He noticed the friends and called someone then to mind the food as he walked over.

"Hello Chef Murdoch. A busy day today?" asked Miriallia as she bent up against the counter.

"Hey kids. It's been busy, but not as hectic as it was on Saturday," the unshaven Murdoch responded.

"I'm sure you'd be bored if this place was as slow as when it first opened," Tolle said.

"Yea but once you college kids started showing up, things sure did explode. I've even got two of your professors sitting over there." Everyone turned to look where the chef was pointing. Seated at one of the tables by the sidewalk were Professor Ramius and Professor La Flaga.

"Hey lets go say hi," Miriallia said with excitement.

"Oh Mir," was Tolle's reply; a mix of protest and capitulation.

As the three walked off, Murdoch grabbed onto Kira's shoulder. "Hey kid, so who was that girl you were with on Friday? Some sort of girlfriend?"

Kira was taken slightly aback. "Oh um no! She's just Athrun's friend," he told the chef with noticeable shyness.

"I see. Sure did look different from here though." Murdoch laughed. "Anyways, back to work. See you around kid."

Kira smiled and turned away. He walked up to the table with the two professors, where now Tolle and Miriallia were also seated.

"Oh hello Kira," Prof. Ramius said with a smile.

Prof. La Flaga waved. "Hey kid, come take a seat."

Kira spoke out some soft hellos and took a seat next to Prof. La Flaga.

"Thank you for helping me with the computer problems last week," Prof. Ramius said to him.

"Always there when you need him, that Kira," La Flaga added, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

The two professor's were always nice and informal with him, almost like friends. Prof. Murrue Ramius taught his history class while Prof. Mu La Flaga taught classes in a different curriculum. La Flaga's specialty was aeronautical engineering, something Kira would never touch. But with always assisting Prof. Ramius, Kira had come to know several of the other professor's on campus.

"So are any of you going on a class trip for the break?" Prof. Ramius asked to the three.

"I wish but just can't really afford any fancy trips at the moment," Mirialla replied.

"Yea and half the time with those things it's too many students all going to the same place," Tolle threw in.

The two professor's gave each other a quick smile. Prof. La Flaga turned to Tolle, "Well about that. You see we were thinking of putting together a little outing for a few students. And Prof. Morgenroete told us you kids have been doing quite the fine job lately. Sound like anything you three might be interested in?"

"Wait so how many people are we talking about here?" Tolle asked, looking very enticed.

"Well just half a dozen to a dozen I would say," Prof. La Flaga responded.

"And you could even go cheer on our football team," Prof. Ramius said as she took a sip of her water.

"But isn't the team playing at Onogoro Island that week?" Miriallia asked slowly.

The dots connected inside of Tolle's mind. He threw his hands up in the air, shouting, "hell yea! The beach!"

Miriallia gave him an angry look. "Alright calm down, we are in public here."

"Yes a trip to Onogoro Island. We thought that might be a nice change of pace for once," Prof. La Flaga said as he smiled at Tolle.

"Hold on a minute," Kira interjected. "So how much will this cost? I mean, it's a bit sudden to put this all together two weeks before the break."

"You always were the perceptive one," Prof. Ramius said to him with a grin.

Prof. La Flaga nodded. "The truth of the matter is that this was originally a teacher's only vacation. But with things getting a little bit crazed here in the capital, many professors backed out. So we figured, why waste a perfectly good reservation?"

"So... basically it won't cost much?" Tolle asked. Miriallia rolled her eyes at the question.

"Yes Tolle, it won't cost as much as other class trips," Prof. La Flaga answered.

"The beach!" Tolle yelled once more with his arms raised in the air.

After another scolding of Tolle by his girlfriend, the professors talked about their plans. The group would ride a train over to the coast, which would take a few hours. Then there would be a ferry ride to the island. Once there the professors already had several rooms rented. The group could stay for four nights. And if someone wanted to bring an outside friend, they probably could but would have to clear it first with either Prof. La Flaga or Prof. Ramius.

The two professors at this point paid their checks. They asked the three to tell only a few classmates about the trip to not cause a ruckus. And they needed a yes or no by the end of the week. The students thanked the two and waved as the adults walked off. Everyone seemed to be excited by the prospects of the trip.

Tolle, Miriallia, and Kira ordered some food for themselves. Their conversations now centered on the far off Onogoro Island. None of them had visited the quiet island before. But it usually wasn't the typical vacation spot at this time of year.

"I have to go by a new swim suit for this," Miriallia said suddenly at one point.

"Now I seriously can't wait," Tolle said to her as he held a hamburger in his hands.

Miriallia angrily squinted her eyes at him.

"Hey now, I mean it in a good way," he said to her, putting down the burger and waving his hands to calm Mir down. Tolle said some things to make amends, saying how Mir looked good in anything.

Kira laughed a bit at the scene of his friends. They were always like this. It could be even comforting that things had not changed for the two since Kira had first met the couple.

They ate their food and soon enough were back in the streets, walking around the city. Miriallia and Tolle walked holding each other's hands. Kira walked along side, holding the case with his laptop and things. Miriallia invited him to come see a movie with them, but Kira told them that he was not in the mood. Thanking the two, he decided to go back to his apartment.

The bus ride back was uneventful. But as Kira sat with his things in lap, he thought about the trip to Onogoro. Never had he gone on one of these student trips. So what should he then expect? It did sound nice to get away with some friends though. And seeing the beaches of Onogoro sounded really good as well.

Kira stood and walked out at the stop near his apartment. He moved briskly to his place, noticing the evening sun setting now. Things had calmed down a bit on the streets as everyone seemed to anticipate the day of work or school coming.

He went up the stairs and opened the door with his keys. When Kira closed it behind himself, a blinking red light caught his attention. There were some messages on the answering machine.

Kira placed his keys on top the tv and looked at the machine. Two new messages it read. 'Wonder who it is,' he thought to himself. He pressed the button and sat down at the table to listen.

"Hey Kira." Ah the familiar voice of Flay, he should have guessed. "I suppose you're not home right now. But listen, I won't be in class tomorrow. So I was wondering if we could get together maybe tomorrow night or wednesday night and you could show me what we learned. Please? Call me back or I'll just call you tomorrow. Alright bye!"

He let out a sigh and laid down his head against the table. The machine beeped to inform that the message was over and moved on to the next one.

"Hello Mr. Kira?" a female voice asked. 'That voice.' His head shot up from the table in disbelief. "It's me, Lacus. I hope you do not mind but I asked Athrun for your phone number. For you see this Wednesday I was planning on having a small get-together at my place. If you are free I would be delighted to have you, so please let me know. Good bye then."

Another beep of the machine and then the room sat quiet.

'Totally unexpected,' Kira thought to himself. He played the message once more in his head. 'She forgot to include her phone number. Athrun should know thought. But a get together...'

He sat quietly thinking once more about the message.

'Wait Flay wanted to study on tuesday or wednesday. Guess I'll have to do it tomorrow. It is going to be a long day tomorrow.'

Kira sighed to himself. Then a small smile appeared on his face. "A get-together..."


	8. Chapter 7: Math Class Lessons

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: briefly, Chef Murdoch would be hilarious. Hope you enjoy this chapters ahead.

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Chapter 7: Math Class Lessons

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Kira looked up at the water flowing out of the shower head in front of him. He closed his eyes and stepped forward into the streams. The warmness seeped into his skin, helping to awaken those sleepy eyes.

It was the usual dance that played out each morning. Especially those mornings after a late night on the computer. But modifying his computer was a drug that was hard to resist. He did it so well, yet it really didn't help him in anything. Kira knew computers, knew them better than anything else. Far more so than he could understand people. Or better yet, far more so than he could understand women.

Oh what to do, Kira thought. A pink haired princess that no one could ever guess what she was thinking. Lacus seemed to surprise him every time they met. And then there was the red haired temptress that he had once dreamed about yet now she was just apparently mostly using him.

He turned the water knobs, ending the shower. It was all quiet in the little bathroom. Kira pulled back to shower curtain, feeling the cooler air that was standing on the other side rush across his body. It was a new day. Now he just had to get through it all.

The classes of that day where not his favorites. The math class Kira shared with Flay was taught by a Prof. Badgiruel. She was quite strict and precise with everything. Kira wondered if the woman ever had any fun. What would it be like to see her smile?

Kira took more notes than usual as later that day he was sure there would be a phone call from Flay. And then of course the lessons to that girl who was not very good with math.

After sitting through the math class he moved on to the next class which he shared with his good friend Athrun. They shook hands and sat down next to each other in their typical mannerism. Tired from the endless math class Kira laid his head down against his books. But then he remember the get-together the follow night.

"Hey about that thing Lacus is doing tomorrow..." Kira started saying.

"Oh yea I forgot about that. So she called you up?" Athrun interjected. He always was more awake than his friend during school.

"Yes well she left a message on my machine but forgot to leave her phone number. Could you tell her I'll try to be there?"

Athrun grinned a little. "I'll pass along the message. But try to make it even with your busy schedule."

Kira shot back a slightly angered look after the sarcastic remark. "Well so are you going to bring Cagalli?"

"Oh um did not even think about that," Athrun stumbled, still a bit shy about the relationship.

"I'll bring her along then. I'm sure she'd enjoy getting to speak with Lacus some more."

Changing the subject a bit, Athrun commented: "Also Lacus said you could be along some friends if you wanted. I might bring some of my buddies from the team."

"Alright," Kira responded with a nod.

The classroom quieted down as the professor began to say some information about an upcoming quiz. The class itself moved rather quickly and soon enough it was over. The two friends gathered their things to leave to their separate destinations.

Kira stopped his friend as they were leaving the room. "By the way, I completely forgot to ask. When is this thing happening?"

"I was going over at around 8:30 probably."

"Ok I will try to make it there at that time," Kira said. The two friends waved good by and went off in opposite directions down the hallway.

After the day of classes was over Kira decided to walk over to Dr. Morgenroete's lab and get some work done. The only problem was that once he reached the lab there was a note taped to the door. It read that the lab would be closed until thursday due to some maintenance.

"Maintenance?" he asked out-loud. "Wonder what they could be doing." Oh well, back to the apartment then.

After the bus ride home Kira found himself back at the small apartment. He ate some lunch and took some time to watch the television; all the while wondering when Flay would call. His body felt lethargic though from the little sleep of the night before. 'Maybe I should just nap now. Of course knowing my luck Flay will call the moment I begin to really sleep.'

Kira decided to take the chance. Soon enough though the phone was ringing after a few minutes on the bed. And as he had thought, it was Flay. "Hello?"

"Hey Kira! Wasn't sure if I would catch you at this time. Did you get my message from yesterday?" she asked.

"I did," he responded.

"So are you free to get together to study?"

"Um yea, how about later today? Tomorrow I won't have much time."

"Oh hum." Flay was noticeably thinking to herself about the options. "Well I might have to just leave from your place to this party my dad is throwing so I guess we can."

They agreed on a time in a few hours from then. Kira hung up the phone and scratched his head. 'Well at least things are working out.' Yawning for a moment he decided to return to his bed once more.

Kira grumbled when the alarm broke into his dream. Things outside sounded like the typical later afternoon traffic. Kira wished he could sleep more but Flay was a punctual girl. He got out of bed to go wash his face.

As predicted, the girl with the long red hair was at his doorstep around the agreed time. She was wearing more normal clothes this time: a simple and long dress. After their hello's the girl entered and Kira saw that she not only had her book-bag but also a wide and slender bag thrown over her shoulder.

"What do have there?" Kira inquired.

"I hope you don't mind but I need to change before I leave today," she said, setting down the bag on the table. Her hand pulled up the bag to reveal a dark blue dress underneath.

"Oh um no, no problem." After a brief pause he commented: "Nice dress."

"Thank you." She pulled back down the bag. "And just wait till I try it on," Flay added with a giggle as she opened her school bag, pulling out the notebook and math book.

Kira went over to get his book from the bedroom, feeling a bit nervous once more around Flay.

This study session proved to be much different than the typical sessions though, as now he had to teach her completely from scratch. Things started off rocky for Kira's attempts. But after a while the red head was understanding the material.

Flay moved herself half way through the lessons to sit next to Kira. It did cause him some shy at first; stumbling of words often. Things normalized after a while. He was never very experienced with the opposite sex; something he did not deny. But there always was the worry in the back of Kira's mind that he wasn't saying the right things or acting the correct way in these situations.

At one point Flay decided to try to work their next problem out completely on her own. Kira just held his pencil in hand, watching the work being scribbled down on paper by his school friend. But after some time of watching her scribble his eyes drifted upwards. He took a moment to look at her face more closely while trying to not make it obvious.

Flay's face was filled with concentration. Her mouth hung open slightly, giving a glimpse of the perfect teeth found underneath. Rosy lips surrounded them with a slight glimmer of a gloss. The red head's nose was slender and came to a noticeable point. Then there were her eyes, squinted a little but full of determination. Her brow was furrowed down as well. And Flay's parted bangs sat on either side of the eyes, hanging in the air due to her leaning forward a bit.

Kira admired the look of determination. She might not be the best with math but she did seem to really want to try.

His observations were broken off when she turned to look at him with a look of happiness, proclaiming "I think I got."

Kira nervously attempted to act casual, "oh um let me check." She gave him a questioning look but quickly shrugged him off.

The rest of the lessons rapped up rather quickly. After all was said and done, Flay understood the lesson. The two put away their notes, happy that it was all over.

"Hey Kira, do you mind if I change then in your room now?" Flay asked.

He stood frozen for a brief moment. "Yea, feel free," he replied, point in the obvious direction of the room.

"Thanks," she smiled, grabbing the dress and walking into the room.

As Flay closed the door behind herself, Kira sat down at the table. 'Well never had a girl change at my place...'

After some moments and a few noises of movement, the door open to reveal Flay in her dark blue dress. He stood up, awed a bit by her look.

Flay smiled, asking: "So how do I look?" She spun around on her bare feet, letting the dress flap up a bit.

Kira didn't know what to say. The dress stopped above her knees and didn't have much of a back although the front remained well covered. "Um well, you look really good..." he told her, sounding possitive.

Noticing his nervousness, Flay giggled. "Oh Kira, you are so funny. Never change." And with that comment, Flay took a few steps forward and quickly gave him a simple kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for all your help."

She quickly turned around, adding, "now it's time for me to head out."

The awe-struck Kira placed a hand on his cheek. It was his right cheek, opposite the one that Lacus had kissed a few days earlier. He watched Flay go over to her book-bag and take out another bag.

'Where did she put her previous clothes,' he thought to himself suddenly. Kira leaned in to look inside his room, noticing a pile of her clothing on his bed. And then he saw that on top the dress she had on earlier was her bra. He quickly leaned back, acting casual as Flay walked past him unfolding the bag in her hands. 'Wait so she is not wearing one under that dress?' he asked himself, feeling more timid now.

"You know you should make your bed a bit better. Looks like you had just been sleeping in there before I got here," she commented.

"Oh um yea I did take a nap earlier," he told her, acting calm.

"I see. Well I'll be out of your hair soon enough," she replied, smiling as she stuffed her clothes into the bag.

"Take your time, no hurry," he said trailing off.

And so she did calmly collect her things. The two said good bye and Flay once more thanked him. She left then with her two bags.

The night was soon upon Kira in his quiet place. He made some food, watched some television, and spent the rest of the night on the computer.

When it was time to finally sleep in the wee hours of the night, Kira slipped off most of his clothes and laid down upon the bed. His mind drifted randomly from one thing to another. But after a few minutes laying there, Kira noticed something in the air. A very unfamiliar scent, almost like a perfume.

Then his mind realized where it came from. It was Flay's perfume that he smelled, probably from when her clothes sat on his bed sheets. The scent was nice but felt strange to the brown haired man. A woman's perfume embedded in his bed sheet from a sensual woman that had changed earlier in his room. 'Oh what a day.'

Then his thoughts shifted to the next day, or in reality the evening many hours from then. The pink princess that had kissed him so softly for what felt like minutes. Then Flay today with her quick kiss of thanks. Two so different women now in his life.

He was forgetting what the kiss from Lacus had even felt like, so surprised when it occurred. A moment that has been stuck in his head. Tomorrow he would get to see her again.

'I wonder if she wears any perfume?'


	9. Chapter 8: A Party Atmosphere

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: again football means soccer

Next chapter is one I've been looking forwards to so hope this one sets everything up well.

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Chapter 8: A Party Atmosphere

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The day went by briskly for Kira. His mind was mostly set upon the evening 'get-together'. Kira wasn't one to go out much, especially to any sort of parties. But there would be some friends at this one.

On the way to school he had invited along his sister, who was obviously trying to hide her excitement. Then there was the class with Mir and Tolle. The couple mulled it over for a minute but in the end decided that it all might be fun. They even called up another mutual friend, Sai, but he was busy that night.

Also going was Athrun but with some of his friends from the football team that Kira didn't really know.

And then of course there was Lacus. Kira was trying to not think much about her or else he would continue to hit up against walls in head on what to do next with her.

So the time was soon upon the brown haired man to figure out what he should wear that night. He pulled out some long sleeve shirts and some of his white button-up shirts, but nothing really stood out. Kira thought it over for a while and just chose another white shirt; much like he had on the other night at her house.

There was someone knocking on the door suddenly and loudly. 'It's probably Cagalli. Someone always opens the gate for her,' he thought to himself.

As predicted it was his sister. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt with a shirt skirt. But by her side there was a department store looking bag.

"Here I got you this," Cagalli said as she handed the bag to him.

"What the?" he blurted out as he set it down. From the inside Kira pulled out a black, long sleeved shirt. "Why did you buy me this?"

She gave him an angered look. "I'm trying to do you a favor. From the way you sounded earlier, it seems that you are just as excited to go to this thing as I am. Of course, I do have a boyfriend that will be there..."

Kira tried to change the direction of the conversation. "Well um you didn't have to go out and buy me anything."

"I saw it on the way home. And trust me, I'm sure that a young songstress will enjoy it," she added with a grin upon her face.

He looked back at her, not saying anything and not knowing anything to say.

"Ok now hurry up and change," Cagalli said, pushing him into his bedroom and closing the door.

"Alright alright," Kira said through the door. "But you know you didn't have to close the door for me to change my shirt."

"Yea I did because you need to change those pants also," she yelled back.

"What? What's wrong with these?" he protested.

"Don't even ask that question. You have got to have a better pair of jeans somewhere."

After Kira dressed himself up to the level that pleased his sister, the two went out to take the bus. They were heading over to Tolle's place to meet with Miriallia and Tolle. From there the four would take the bus rides over to Lacus' house.

The siblings arrived at the tall apartment building of Tolle. Standing outside the glass door entrance, Kira rang the buzzer next to the room-number.

An echoey voice asked: "Hey Kira?"

"Yea it's me."

"Alright we'll be down in a minute. Mir is messing with her hair... again... so hold on. Hey don't have to throw things at me." With that the voice cut off. Cagalli giggled as she imagined what had just transpired in an apartment above them.

The two stood quietly and patiently waiting for what seemed like five minutes. Eventually the couple came out from the building. Tolle continued commenting on Mir's excessive preparations as they walked to the bus, much to the wrath of his girlfriend.

The bus they rode on was not very filled. The four sat together with Tolle joking along the way.

"It's not like this for us guys, Kira. These women here have to plan it all ahead, get all their clothes out, put them on the bed and check each out one over and over again," Tolle said.

"I'm not sure that he fits into your categories then," Cagalli suddenly said.

Tolle looked first at her then at Kira. "What you secretly spend hours on planning what to wear?" he asked his confused looking brown haired friend.

Cagalli interjected once more. "Well not usually. But today, if you had seen his room, he had all his 'nice' clothing strewn out over his bed."

"Wait what?" Kira asked looking nervous.

"Ohhhh," Tolle said loudly, as if it was all coming together in his mind. "So getting all dressed up for someone special are we? I was wondering why you had a nice shirt on."

"Wait no... but... Cagalli got me this shirt," Kira responded, trying to cover his true intentions.

"Getting your sister to help you shop. That's a good plan, since she probably knows what looks better to a woman," Tolle continued, ignoring the plight of his friend.

The group continued to joke around for the rest of the trip. It did not seem to take long before they had traveled across much of the city. Everyone walked towards the house with some excitement, although the siblings was from a different source than Mir and Tolle. The couple themselves were more surprised by their surroundings.

"Alright this is the place," Kira said, stopping in front of the gate and hitting the buzzer on the console. He noticed Athrun's car was parked in much the same place it had been the other day.

"Oh my god, this is huge!" Tolle responded as he walked up.

Mir looked pensive. "Maybe we should of brought a cake..."

Cagalli let out a slight giggle. "Nah Lacus didn't want us bringing anything."

The gate slide open. Ahead the door to the house opened and there they saw a young woman with pink hair waving.

"Is that her?" Tolle asked.

"Yea," Kira replied, but a bit softer than he had intended. He casually walked forward, hoping no one noticed. The rest followed suit.

"Why hello everyone," Lacus said to them as they arrived at the door.

"Hey Lacus," Cagalli said as the two shook hands.

Kira just smiled and nodded, shyly. Lacus smiled back at him. "So are these your friends?"

"Yes this is Tolle and Miriallia," Kira responded, holding his hand out towards the two.

Miriallia shook Lacus' hand, saying: "You can just call me Mir."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lacus said back.

Tolle scratched his head, commenting "nice house you got here."

"Why thank you," Lacus said to him with a smile. "Now come on in. Athrun and his friends have already arrived."

The proceeded in with Mir and Tolle continuing to be impressed. Athrun and his three friends were talking in a large living room area.

"Hello all. I'd like you meet my good friends Kira and his sister Cagalli," Lacus said to Athrun and friends. The siblings said two rather shy hellos to the group. "And over here are Mir and Tolle." The couple gave a much more enthusiastic greeting.

Athrun stepped forward to introduce his friends: Nicol, Dearka, and Yzak. They were all starters for the football team. But even with their infamy, Kira really didn't know any of them.

And so the party went on from there. For the most part the two groups of friends stayed separate. Lacus tried her best to get everyone talking to each other but most there were rather shy; except for Tolle but he was always around his Mir.

After a while Nicol found his way to the piano in the room and played for everyone, lightening up the mood some. Dearka and Yzak moved to the kitchen to watch a late night football game rerun on the television.

As Kira went to refill his drink at the bar Athrun walked up to him.

"So how are things?" Athrun asked.

"Good. You have a nice day?" Kira responded.

"Yea, another slow day. But it's good to get out like this." The two nodded in agreement as they took another sip of their respective drinks. "By the way, that's a different shirt for you. Never seen you wear something like that."

Kira let out a little laugh. "Everyone keeps saying that tonight. Cagalli actually bought it for me."

"Ah makes sense now," Athrun said.

"How was the big date by the way?" Kira pried.

"Oh it was fun. Guess I didn't really even know what to expect though. But she enjoyed herself which is the most important thing."

Kira nodded. "Why don't you go talk with her? I've seen you looking over at her."

"And abandon you here?" Athrun said as a joke

Avoiding his comment, Kira continue: "Athrun I know you want to."

"Guess so. You're a good friend," Athrun said, putting his hand on Kira's shoulder. "But I'm going to take up your advice and leave you now."

Kira smiled and stood up against the bar as his friend went off to talk with his sister. He looked around the room. Lacus, Tolle, and Mir all sat together on a couch, talking. That Nicol guy was playing the piano, seemingly lost in his own world. The other two football guys were off in the kitchen still. And now Athrun and Cagalli sat at another couch chatting.

Things were pretty peaceful at this party. Maybe it was the beers he had earlier to calm his nerves. Of course now he had been drinking some soda. Still, he felt quite relaxed.

'But I haven't even been able to talk with Lacus,' he thought to himself. Course he should have easily expected that with so many new people for her to meet at this 'get-together' she would not be alone much. He sighed. Maybe if he had been more assertive. Yet that was not who he was. This party was fun but it wasn't a situation he was used to. Maybe that's what was causing him to feel odd at that moment.

Kira looked over to his right and saw a sliding door to the outside. He decided to step out for a few minutes. Closing the door behind him, Kira walked over to the railing and leaned up against it.

The moon hung high but was very bright on this night. Usually the city lights blanketed the sky too much to see any stars but from Lacus' house he could make a few of them out.

It was tranquil outside. Unlike Kira's place, there were no noises of cars roaming around outside. No noises of the city to fill the background. The background here seemed filled more with the sounds of insects in the night.

This was nice and peaceful; something he was not accustomed to. Not since he was little. Not since before his life got complicated.

Behind him he heard the door slide open. Kira turned around then to see who was coming out. There stood the pink haired girl he had been thinking about a few moments ago.

She stepped forward and closed the door behind herself. "Do you mind if I join you Kira?"

"No.. no not all. Please," he said with a slight smile that came out when she was around him.

Lacus walked up to the railing and leaned against it next to Kira. Her eyes stared up at the moon, lost in the light. But he was still looking at her, lost in the light reflected from her.

They stood there quietly on the cool night, with the ambience of insect noise the only sound around and with no one else seeming to notice them.


	10. Chapter 9: Two Under the Moonlight

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: I did end the last chapter when things where moving towards something special but this needed it's own chapter...

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Chapter 9: Two Under the Moonlight

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Her skin was soft up against his arm. It was a warmness that filled his mind tactually. But all he could see was her face. The nose that curved to a slight point. Her small but sharp eyebrows that rested above her silvery blue eyes. Those small, naturally pink looking lips that she held slightly parted. And that pink hair with the bangs party at the side.

Lacus turned to look at Kira, noticing that he in turn had been looking at her. She kept the same look upon her face then gave to him a smile. He smiled back at her, still looking with a bit of wonder.

"So um.." Lacus started saying, then had to clear her throat. "So would you like to walk with me over to the lake?"

"Oh sure," Kira responded. "After you." With that he raised his hand up a bit to gesture her ahead towards the lawn.

As Lacus moved to step past him, she placed out her hand. He instinctively placed his hand underneath as she stepped off the patio and onto the grass. Kira noticed himself doing so without even thinking. And he also noticed that he did not just place his hand underneath in some sort of symbolic chivalry, but was holding onto her hand for a brief moment. And for that moment he felt the warm skin, her fingers and bones, all above his own fingers that wrapped around her hand.

She stepped out ahead, walking slowly along the grass. Kira stood for a second to watch her, to look her over. Lacus wore a simple white dress with small straps over her shoulders. She had on simple white shoes with very small heals. And on her hair was her normal golden colored broach. It was all very simple but it did show off much of her smooth skin.

He walked behind her now, moving a slightly bit faster to catch up. But she seemed to be lost in contemplation with her head a bit down and her eyes closed.

"It is a very nice night out," Lacus spoke softly.

"Yes. There's a a cool breeze out," Kira commented. He walked with his hands in his pockets, alternating his view from her to the surrounding landscape and back.

"You like it out here at night?" he asked her.

"Yes, very much so. It is quite peaceful out here. And while I do enjoy the city, it can become too overbearing at times."

Kira now was walking alongside her. Both looked forward as they talked. "Did you live outside a city before this?"

She turned her head sideways to look at him and Kira turned to look at her. "I did not too long ago. What I do miss most is the dark open sky filled with stars. Here we see so little. But out there it was a blanket full of tiny lights. I would enjoy to stare out at the sky and dream of what it would be like to be out there."

"That does sound nice. These days I don't get out much from the city so I tend to forget what the open sky looks like."

Lacus smiled at him and then turned to look ahead once more. Kira did much the same. The two reached the outlook over the lake walking side by side.

"You sure are lucky though to have a place like this," Kira said as he looked over the lake.

"It is true but sometimes it can get to be a bit lonesome with my father away for much of the day and with myself new to this city," she said back.

"What about your mother?" Kira asked.

Lacus looked down at the ground at that moment. "My mother... she is no longer with me."

Kira turned to look at her, his mouth opened a bit. He didn't know what to say, feeling stupid for asking something like that. "Oh um.. I'm sorry. I did not mean to bring up something sad..."

She turned to face him, smiling a small smile. He lifted her right hand up and placed it upon his cheek. "No need to feel sorry Kira. You did not know, and it is something I do not feel sad for anymore. But let us not talk about such things."

Lacus slid her hand softly from his face as she turned around. She took a few steps away from Kira then turned once again to face him. "It is such a wonderful night, we should remain content. With the two of us alone out here we are like a couple out on a date," she said with a giggle.

Kira stood there looking at her. He didn't know what to say, only getting out a soft "Yea..."

"Or we could be as two kids playing make-believe." As the wind blew softly Lacus curtsied. Giggling she said, "Well hello good prince. My name is Lacus Clyne."

He smiled at her, playing along and bowing. "Hello my lady. I am Kira Yamato." He extended out his hand to her and she placed hers on top. Lacus then placed her other hand opon his shoulder and he cautiously placed his other hand on her side. The two slowly danced in place, or at least attempted to dance. "I should warn you that I'm not good at dancing," he said, looking nervous.

"But you do not seem to be dancing badly," she replied. He then happened to inadvertently stepped on her foot. "Oh um sorry," he said, embarrassed. She began to giggle softly and then laughed out. He smiled but soon could not hold back his own laughter.

"Oh Kira," she smiled, standing slightly in front of him. Her head turned up to look at the shinning moon. Kira noticed that those silver eyes of hers seemed to hold a tiny glimpse of longing. Or maybe he was just interpreting her expression wrongly.

He continued to look at her, not turning away. She held her head up to the side, still with a small smile.

A breeze blew by causing her hair to sway along in the wind. He watched as she pulled some hair from in front of her face. He looked at her smile, her simple smile that she wore. It was so very genuine that he did not know where it came from but he wanted to know. She had been seemingly so sad just a moment ago yet now she appeared so happy.

Was she always like this? Had she always been like this? He wanted to know. He really wanted to learn about her.

"You know..." Kira began softly, without even thinking. "Something about your smile... you just... you have a really pretty smile, like no one else I've met."

Lacus turned to look at Kira. Her smile shifted to a started look. He could tell that she had not expected him to say something like that but yet she was not mad.

Suddenly his brain came to a stop. 'Did I just say that?' He stumbled on what to do next, looking away and started to say, "I uh..."

She took a step forwards and placed a finger on his lips. Kira stopped trying to say anything more and looked at her. Lacus still had an expression of being caught off guard while equally curious. "Did you... honestly?" she asked, apparently also stumbling her words.

"Um.. yes. I mean you are always pretty no matter how you look, but when you smile..." Kira was nervous, looking around and back into her eyes constantly. His mind was thinking so fast, trying to finger out the correct words to describe what he wanted to say.

Lacus placed her hands on either side of his face. Kira now looked at her and not away. He just looked into her eyes as she looked back. His mind stopped racing and just stood still, taking in all he was seeing. She wasn't smiling and neither was he. Instead he read from her face a sense of wanting.

Kira leaning forward slightly.

She closed her eyes in response.

He leaned in more towards her.

She rolled off her heal and stood slightly on her toes.

Kira moved forward the tiny bit more and pressed his lips against hers. He closed his eyes, much the same as she had, to take it all in. He felt her warm lips firmly planted on his. Her breath blew softly upon him. The soft hands stayed on either side of his face. Kira's own hands had at some point made it to her side. His mind was blank, just taking in all the new sensations.

A gentle breeze blew by the couple. The cool air dried a bit of their lips and rolled across their skin. He couldn't hear anything but just feel her warmth.

Lacus pulled away. He did not know how long they had stood there kissing. She was smiling and Kira was sure that he was doing much the same. They stood there not saying a thing to each other for another moment.

"Oh Kira," she whispered softly. With that she slid her hands down and wrapped them around his body. She moved in close, hugging the young man tightly. He hugged her back, leaning his head against hers.

They stood embraced as the two talked.

"What an unexpected turn of events this night has taken," she commented.

"Yea," he said back.

"Why is it that I know so little of you yet you make me smile so much?" she asked him.

"I don't know... but stay with me and let's find out."

She giggled softly. "I could do that. Although I fear I may not be at my best currently."

"Oh you seem great to me right now. And I've never even really dated anyone so it's all new to me," he said.

"So I guess it will be an adventure for us both." She pulled away from his body and gave him another kiss softly once more on the lips. They looked at each other quietly for another moment. "I think though we will have to continue on another day."

"I guess you are right, we should go back to your party."

The two walked quietly side by side back to the house; both lost in thought.

When they reached the sliding door, Lacus paused for a moment. "Are you doing something this weekend?"

"No not that I can think of," he said.

"Then please give me a call. I would enjoy if you would show me more nice places in this city."

"Yea... that would be nice." He smiled and then slid open the door for her. She walked past him, looking into his eyes and smiling back.

No one inside seemed to have noticed what had just occurred between the two. Kira went back to talking with his friends. But his mind was lost on one thing.

He would sometimes look across the room and watch her for a moment as she talked with the other guests. Or he would look across and see her watching him. And they would smile to each other, remembering that moment they had shared together so briefly ago. That moment that neither would forget.


	11. Chapter 10: The Days Ahead

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: the last little ditty of this story arch you could say, then on to the build-up towards Onogoro Island.

And sorry for the long delay, it's been some very busy few weeks there, might still be some delay for the next chapter as well...

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Chapter 10: The Days Ahead

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Things were noticeably winding down to a close for everyone at the party. In the main room they could hear the game, coming from the television in the kitchen, about to end. Cagalli and Athrun had stayed together talking since Kira had gone outside. Now both were slouched down on the couch with Cagalli's legs over Athrun's. Kira himself was seated, lightly chatting with Tolle. Miriallia was off in the kitchen getting something to drink.

"Hey I got to go hit up the bathroom," Tolle said to Kira, standing up from the chair he sat in.

Kira nodded, staying seated. He looked off into nothing, daydreaming away, and then decided to go get a quick refill of his drink.

"Get some water while your up," Cagalli asked of him as he walked by.

"Alright," Kira responded without turning to look at her.

The brown haired boy stepped out into the hallway leading towards the kitchen. His mind was still lost in a bit of a daydream, thinking about what the future may hold. What had happened earlier could change so much or maybe not change much at all.

Kira was lost in his mind until he looked up to see an upset Miriallia walking towards him.

"I don't want your help!" she yelled out at someone.

From around the corner ahead came Athrun's friend, Dearka. "Hey no need to get all upset babe," he said towards her, noticeably confused.

Miriallia turned to yell again, "Don't call me babe!"

Kira stood still, watching their actions unfold down the hallway.

Dearka reached out slightly towards the angered woman, saying, "hey wait, I was just trying to talk."

"Oh my," Lacus said quietly, standing next to Kira. He almost jumped when he heard her voice, not realizing she had come beside him.

She turned to smile, seeming to be quite aware she startled him. "Here you are," she whispered.

Kira looked down to notice she was holding a small piece of paper in her hand. He took it from her, looking up again.

"Call me," Lacus whispered with a smile. She calmly turned and walked off to chat with the confused looking Dearka.

On the other side of the hallway there stood an equally confused looking Tolle. "Hey what happened? What's got you all upset?" he asked Miriallia.

"Well you would of know if you had been around!" she yelled at him.

"I was in the bathroom. Damn, why does this always happen to me?" he asked himself.

Things calmed down for everyone after that moment in the hallway. But it was obvious to all the time had come to go home. Kira and friends were the first to leave. Cagalli gave Athrun a good bye hug. Tolle and Miriallia thanked Lacus extensively for her hospitality. Everyone gathered at the door to say goodbye. Athrun's friends remained fairly quiet during the process, especially Dearka.

As Kira and friends walked away from Lacus' house, he gave a quick glance back. The football players were all saying their own goodbye's to Lacus. She had that smile on her face, that memorable smile of hers that could be found on no one else. Kira smiled to her, smiling to the pink haired woman standing far away from him, smiled knowing she could not see him do so.

The friends shared a cab ride back as it was too late for busses. Everyone was quiet along the drive. Miriallia had fallen asleep. Tolle himself looked as if he was fighting the urge to sleep the entire ride back to his own apartment. The two siblings sat in a dazed state, each mind lost in its own world. In the end, everyone's goodbyes were quiet as they all wanted to just get to sleep.

Thursday morning came once more for the brown haired man. He lay tired in his bed, not wishing to move, and just wanted to continue dreaming away. But the alarm was ringing and it would not shut up until he hit the button.

The day moved along slowly. Kira's mind was not present for most of it. Athrun had invited him to a movie that night. He had agreed to go, not that he was interested in the film, but just wanted to hang out with his friend.

After classes Kira went over to Dr. Morgenroete's lab. Again there sat a note saying the lab was closed till next week for some unexpected delays. At the bottom was a small message reading: Check your e-mails. Kira knew it was meant more specifically for him than for the other students.

Later on that day Athrun came by and the two went off to see 'Boaz.' Both agreed it was a rather strange name for an action film. Neither of them thought much of the movie once it was over, but the film did pack the usual entertainment.

On the walk back, Athrun asked Kira an unexpected question. "This might sound wierd," he started. "But, did something happen between you and Lacus yesterday?"

"What? Did she say something to you?" Kira responded in surprise.

"Well no, you see, it was actually Cagalli. She said that she saw the two of you outside and then you both disappeared for a long time and then came back inside together."

Kira walked quietly for a moment. "Well yea you could say something happened. I wasn't really sure how I should tell you though."

"I think I can guess where this is going," Athrun said, obvious to Kira's unease. "You should know, whatever you two do is fine by me. What happened between me and Lacus was over before I even knew. It's all in the past now."

"Alright." Kira sighed. "She and I talked for a bit and I guess now I'm going to take her out around town on Saturday."

"What, like on a date?" Athrun asked.

"Yea I guess that's what you could call it," Kira said through his shyness.

"Oh and so was that all that happened yesterday?"

Kira said nothing for a moment then spoke uneasily, "We did kiss."

"Really? Wait until I tell your sister about this," Athrun joked.

"Hey no one said anything about telling her," Kira protested. Athrun laughed. The two walked on joking with each other. It seemed that everything would be fine. Kira had thought it over briefly as to if his best friend would be unhappy over what had happened. But he should of known his friend better, Kira thought to himself.

The next day he awoke much the same, wishing there was no alarm buzzing in his head.

Classes went by their typical pace. But half way through his day Kira decided to take a detour towards the technology building. He found his way over to Professor La Flaga's office. He nocked on the door and opened it once someone inside yelled a 'Come in!'

"Oh hello Kira," Prof. La Flaga said as he shuffled some papers around his messy desk.

"Hey Professor. Listen, about the trip to Onogoro," Kira started saying.

"You're here to tell me you're going right?" Prof. La Flaga said with a smirk.

"Yea, well, I did come for that."

"Good good. Your friends Tolle and his girlfriend said they would go. They also said that two of your other lab buddies would be coming along. I can't remember their names right now, Professor Ramius has the list."

Must be Sai and Kuzzey, Kira thought to himself.

"But I'll be sure to tell her to add you to that list."

"Yea about that, will it be alright if my sister comes along?" Kira asked.

"She go here?" Prof. La Flaga replied, referring to the University.

"She does, you probably never met her before. She's my twin actual, not that we look alike," Kira trailed off.

"Twin aye? Sure, I don't see any problem then. Just write her name down and I'll tell Murrue to also add your sister to the list."

"Also," Kira said rather hesitantly, "I have another friend that might want to go. It's just that.. I wasn't able to ask them, things were kind of busy and all."

"But you don't have a 100 on your friend then?" Prof. La Flaga asked.

"No not yet. I was hoping, it would be alright if I got back to you on... them, next week," Kira said, trying to sound calm. "I'm pretty sure they will want to go."

"Oh really," Prof. La Flaga said again with a smirk. "So does this person go here?"

"No they sort of moved here just recently. They are around my age but don't go to any school. But the person won't cause any trouble, always happy around anyone. And they'd love the beach."

"Would they?" Prof. La Flaga coughed lightly. "So this person a relative of yours or something?"

"No nothing like that. But I can vouch for them. You would be doing me a big favor even."

Prof. La Flaga thought it over for a moment. "Well for you kid, sure. I'll leave an extra slot open."

"Thanks, that's great. So I'll see you monday then," Kira said, relieved.

He opened the door to go when Prof. La Flaga added, "Just be sure to ask her before the middle of next week, alright?"

Kira stood at the door for a moment, unprepared for what the Professor had said. "Oh seems I guessed right, good luck with that, kid," Prof. La Flaga said.

He felt like he had been caught lying but didn't know why he felt that way. Kira nodded to Prof. La Flaga and closed the door. Tomorrow he would take Lacus around town, if she was free. And then he would ask her if she wanted to come along. It was rather sudden thing to ask someone you had just met but there would be other friends besides the two of them. Now he just had to wait and hope everything goes smoothly and make sure he didn't become too shy to even ask her.


	12. All Those Yesterdays Part 1

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: once again sorry for the delay, life just gets busy some times. Here's a little special chapter I've been wanting to write...

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All Those Yesterdays: Part 1

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She was humming a tune to herself. No one else around could hear her, but the tune always popped into her head when she was reminiscing. It was a song about him from when they first started to go out together. She didn't even know where it came from, the words and melody had just sprung up in her mind. But in moments like these, on a sunny day like this one, she would think of him and hear that song in her head.

"So? Don't leave me curious like this. Were you trying to date my brother before that night or not?" Cagalli asked from across the table, determined to get some answers from her friend.

Lacus giggled. "My, always the determined girl. Well let us see... I was still new to town back then. I remember our very first meeting. I was walking along, looking at the various shops down Lorenzini street. As I looked around I noticed that someone was looking back at me.. But then I noticed that Athrun was seated across from that young man. I was quite surprised and I am sure he was as well. Soon enough I was introduced then to your brother," she said with a smile.

"Wow you have really good memory there," Cagalli commented.

"Oh some things just stay in my mind. Such as what you could call our first unofficial date."

"So what was that like?" Cagalli asked, looking more curious.

Lacus giggled once more. "At the time, neither of us would have considered it as such. But Athrun had left us alone at that Archangel restaurant so sudden. I was hoping to spend some time with someone instead of walking alone along the streets some more. After conversing briefly with your brother he thought it nice to show me to the beach. It seemed there was a place he much enjoyed."

"Did you two make out on the beach?" Cagalli teased.

"No no silly, I have already told you about the first time we kissed," she replied, acting mad.

"Yea at your party. But so what did you two do at the beach?"

Lacus smiled broadly. She had a fond memory of that time and was glad she could see it so clearly still. "I walked along the beach, feeling the sand bellow my feet. I don't really know what brought it about but it just sort of happened. Kira stood a bit away and just watched. I should have realized what those eyes of his were saying."

"What do you mean?" her friend asked.

"It just seemed, with the look upon his face, that he looked upon me like I've never seen anyone else before. I even recall the smile he had. It seemed as if he was focused entirely on me for those moments. But I was so shy, I could not even understand my own feelings."

Cagalli took a sip from her tea. "My brother smiling you say? Must of been something special for him then. And so you didn't even know you liked him?"

"No I most certainly did not. Maybe it was the big new city and my father that worked so much. Even Athrun appeared to be quite busy at that time. I was just happy to be in the company of someone."

"Guess it all worked out then," Cagalli commented.

"Yes who would have thought."

Two little brown birds flew down onto their table. Quite bold of them, Lacus thought to herself. 'Or maybe they just know me.' They jumped around their landing spot, waiting for some sign from the two occupants of the table. Lacus smiled as she took one of the crackers on her plate and broke it into tiny pieces on her hand.

Cagalli watched, her arm propping up her head. The small birds danced towards Lacus, switching their attention from her to the food and back. Lacus held her hand palm up against the table, inviting the visitors to eat the crumbs found there.

"What is it about you? Seems you can make anything at peace," Cagalli said as the two birds jumped around Lacus' hand, pecking at the crumbs.

Lacus thought for a moment. She didn't expect such a question, her actions were usually so natural for her that she didn't think what she did was anything special. "I supposed.. I suppose it is just how I am," she said plainly.

"I'm sorry. Just so much has happened to all of us. Yet here we are at this café together. And with what you are about to do, I mean sometimes I just wonder how you do it all."

"Yes I have to keep reminding myself sometimes that is all real. But I have to always keep going or else all that we are will be for nothing." The two little birds had now finished with the crumbs on Lacus' hand. They began to prance around the table, pecking at whatever seemed like food.

Deciding to change the subject back to her friend, Lacus asked, "So when did you know that you loved Athrun?" Cagalli seemed to blush a little to the question. 'She is still quite shy about these matters.'

"I guess it just happened. Not sure how it was for you but one day I just sort of noticed that I wanted to be with him. I woke up one morning and wanted him to be there next to me and to always be there."

"Sounds very nice," Lacus commented.

Cagalli was trying to look away. She took a sip of her tea, adding, "look at you, making me talk like this in public."

"Oh silly Cagalli. I am sure you wish he was here now."

"Well yea, that is true."

"So when are you two going to be married then?" Lacus asked, teasing her friend.

Cagalli waved her hands in protest. "Hey now, don't be throwing none of your crazy ideas my way."

Lacus giggled. "But I am sure you want to, or am I mistaken?"

Her friend calmed down and looked at the table, thinking a moment. "Yea we will someday." She sipped some more tea, saying a bit more quietly, "just as soon as he figures out he needs to buys me a ring."

They both laughed for a few moments.

"So then Lacus, when was it you first knew that you would end up with Kira?" Cagalli asked.

Lacus looked off to the nearby street, thinking back. She already knew the answer, but it was a special memory that she liked reminisce over. "This is going to sound a bit silly but it is the honest truth..." Lacus began then went quiet for another moment. She took her hand and placed it upon her left breast. "Those moments when you can hear your own heart beating inside of you, when all that you know of is yourself and the other person... it was a moment such as that."

Cagalli watched her friend, waiting for her to tell more of the story.

"It happened when we all went up to Onogoro Island. Nothing much occurred immediately when we were all out there. I was even surprised that I had decided to go, trusting all of you so quickly."

"Yea I was surprised you came along. Didn't expect Kira to even ask you at that point," Cagalli said. "So when exactly was it?"

"Oh it happened one night, when we found ourselves alone on the beach. Just as it happened, as if fated, at my party, once again I found myself with your brother."

"So you two did make out on the beach," Cagalli teased, "I just had the wrong beach."

"My oh my, Cagalli," Lacus said, giggling.

The two sat quietly for another moment, off in their own memories. Cagalli then turned to her friend and asked the ominous question, "So you think we're going to be like this ten years from now?"

"I am quite positive that we will be. I can imagine us now. The two of us, still as beautiful, but instead both married..."

Cagalli interjected, "Hey! Again throwing your ideas on me! He'll buy me a ring, you just wait!"

The two friends laughed some more. It had been a pleasant afternoon but now had come time for Cagalli to leave. They said their goodbyes, hugged each other and then went along their way.

Lacus walked along peaceful, lost in her own dreams. Her summer dress blew a bit in the wind. The city was full of honking cars and busy people but she didn't notice any of it. Her body moved in autopilot as her mind was elsewhere. It was lost to a moment now past but never forgotten.

Those days of that vacation with her friends. And that night when she had managed to find herself alone with that young man. She remembered the feel of the sand upon her legs. The cool breeze moving along her exposed back. She was nervous, feeling a bit exposed with just her bikini on. But yet at the same time she felt safe with him there. The moon was up high, out to provide them with some light. And she could see those eyes of his, those eyes that drew closer and closer.

Lacus had closed her eyes then. All that she could remember from there was the feeling of his lips against her. The feeling she felt on that beach alone with Kira. And with it the feeling that she had developed moments before that told her simply that this man was the man she would be with till the end.

Lacus hummed that melody, louder now, as she walked along the sidewalk. It was evening, the sun was slowly setting, but she was already dreaming.


	13. Chapter 11: The First Date

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: back to where we left off now...

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Chapter 11: The First Date

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He was holding the phone up to his ear, listening to the ringing noise, nervous at each moment of quiet pause. Someone picked up on the other side. Kira held his breath for half second before he heard a voice.

"Hello?" asked an older sounding man.

"Um yes is Lacus there?" Kira in turn asked asked.

"Yes she is. May I ask who is calling?" said the man.

"Kira, her friend.. Kira," he replied, trying to act calm. He fiddled with a note pad that was next to the phone as the man on the other line told him to hold for one moment. What was he going to say? Somehow he was nervous, even though she knew he would be calling. He had already thought it over some twenty times before calling but here he was again thinking it over.

"Yes hello?" a pretty voice asked from the other side.

"Hello, um Lacus? It's me Kira."

"Oh hello Kira. It is so nice to hear from you again," she responded with quite a bit of joy in her voice. It helped put him a bit more at ease hearing her once again.

"So are you free today?" he asked, getting right to the point.

"Why yes I am. What shall we do today?"

"I'm not really sure. How about we meet somewhere and decide what to do then?"

"That sounds like a good plan. Where shall we meet?"

Kira thought for a moment then remembered the park near his apartment. Although it was far for her. He decided to ask if that would be a good meeting place and she voiced her agreement. Her father would not mind driving her down there, she commented.

"I will see you soon then," Lacus said with a sense of joy in her voice.

"Yea see you," he responded. As Kira put down the phone he let out a sigh. What do you do with a girl like Lacus on a day like this?

He decided to head out soon after the conversation. It would take her quite some time to get to the park but he figured waiting in the park would help calm his nerves. Kira went to check his clothing once more, make sure it was something his sister would find acceptable. He wore simple blue jeans, some brown shoes, and a white button-up shirt with it's sleeves rolled up. 'Presentable, right?' he thought to himself.

The bus stop was right down the street but Kira decided to walk to the park instead. The day was nice, almost exactly what one could hope for. But he wasn't thinking too much about all of that. The blue skies were just a bonus.

The real question on Kira's mind was where to take Lacus. He didn't know where exactly she had already been or what she might like to see or even what her basic interests were. He was rather jumping head first into all of this for a man with little knowledge or experience with women, Kira thought to himself.

By figuring that there would be time later to think about what to do, he instead began to wonder how he would ask an all important question. He had been wanting to ask Lacus to accompany them on this school trip happening the following weekend. But it felt like he would be asking a complete stranger.

Suddenly a car honking next to him broke Kira's train of thought.

"Hey Kira," a man with spiking blonde hair and glasses called out to him from within the nice looking car.

"Oh hey Sai," Kira responded, bending over to lead up against the open window.

"Where you going? I can give you a ride if you'd like," Sai asked.

"Well just down the over to the park, don't really need a ride."

Sai looked forward then back to his friend, "Tassil Park?"

Kira nodded. "Yea that one."

"Alright. But hey, you are going with us to Onogoro right?"

"I am," he replied.

"Excellent. It's going to be nice with everyone from the lab there. You know of anyone else that's going?"

Kira scratched his nose for a second. "Well my sister will be going. And maybe another friend of mine."

"That sounds good. I'm actually bringing a friend as well, a classmate of ours. I think you know her actually, Flay?" Sai asked.

"Yea I um helping her out with math from time to time," Kira commented, feeling very surprised.

"Now I remember her saying something about that. She'll be happy to hear someone else is there that she knows. But Flay's only going to be there for a few days." Sai then suddenly looked down at his watch. "I need to get going now. I will see you monday then?"

Kira nodded once more. "Yea monday. See you Sai."

"Bye Kira," Sai replied as he drove off.

Kira stood there for a moment looking at the car drive away. The news was rather unexpected. He began to walk along, thinking it all over for a moment. 'Flay probably looks nice in a swim suit,' he thought to himself suddenly, thinking of anything good to come of it all. Yet in the end she would probably be more trouble than anything, as she usually was around him.

A cool breeze blew by. He looked up at the open sky for a moment to remind himself what a nice day it was. 'Have to wonder how Lacus looks in her swim suit. That would be pretty nice to see, of course if I were ever to be that lucky. Course I am lucky to even be going out with her today.'

The park was not very full with just a couple of folks strolling along. Kira decided to sit a bench and wait for a while. It was a good day to watch everything go by; he felt in a good mood just from looking around at the world. Various birds came around him to prod for some food as they cautiously walked around the bench. But Kira wasn't there to give them anything, he was just enjoying the open air.

Kira had grown up in cities from as far back as he could remember. He always assumed that he fit best in a large city but in moments like these in park, away from all that noise, things felt much more at peace.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows against his legs. Two pigeons were fighting to his right. They flapped their wings about, locking their beaks together. Kira watched, wondering if they had fought just to be near him.

Suddenly he felt a body sit down on the bench, quite close to his own. Kira turned his head quickly, instinctively, and came to look directly at the face of Lacus smiling sweetly back at him. She waved her hand playfully. He waved back, still a bit stunned by her sudden appearance.

"Why hello Kira," she said in her usual joyous voice.

"Hi, you surprised me there," he said back, unintentionally smiling a bit now.

"Our drive did not take as long as we thought, you see."

"Your father just drop you off?" Kira asked.

"Yes, after deducing that I came here to meet you, the person he heard on the phone. I do think he wants to meet you now."

"Uh oh. Wonder what he'll think of me."

"Well let us go enjoy our time now before your day of judgement," Lacus joked. She stood up, taking his arm by the wrist and pulling the surprised Kira up. "So where are we to go?"

Kira stood there facing her, thinking to himself. He took a moment to look Lacus over. Her pink hair was bound together in a ponytail, swaying briefly in the light breeze. She had on a dark red jacket and a black skirt with simple black boots.

Lacus seemed to notice Kira's eyes giving her a look-over. She leaned back to look herself over and then stood straight again. "Do you like what I wore?" she asked him.

"Oh yea, it's really nice. You look... really pretty," Kira said, hesitating from his shyness.

Lacus smiled at him. "Why thank you. It is just some old clothes I put on," she said, trying to sound modest.

Kira thought now about where to go. "So I guess, if you'd like, we can go see the university Athrun and I go to."

"That sounds nice," she said.

"Alright, just a short walk from here. Honestly I wasn't sure where to take you, so if you want to see something just speak up."

"Well you are my tour guide, so take me where you wish."

Kira got the impression that she was not too particular where they would go. 'Guess that can be seen as a good thing,' he thought to himself. 'I suppose she just wants to be out with me.'

The two walked out of the park together. As they strolled along, Lacus had hooked her arm in Kira's. He didn't protest or even say a word. 'We really do look like a couple now.' He couldn't help but smile. She was watching everything around them as if it was new, with a look of curiosity in her eyes.

The streets were busy with people. Side walks held all sorts of folks, from businessmen to people shopping to those just walking. Kira and Lacus moved along at a steady pace. He would glance over from time to time and continued to see that same look in her eyes. With the feeling of her slender arm around his and the beautiful face... He could run through all day long the good things he liked about her but had yet to really find anything bad. Even the very formal and rather unusual way she spoke was becoming comforting. All that nervousness of the night before, when he had laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling, it was all gone now. He felt as if he could show her anything, take her anywhere, and she really would never loose that smile. If she kept that smile then he would never feel bad. Maybe it was just some young love euphoria, he thought to himself, but it was nice to dream about a girl like this for once.

"So is this your university?" Lacus asked. The two had come to a stop at the corner of a block where, directly opposite, stood a large building surrounded by large expanse of grass. Most buildings they had past were pressed right up to the sidewalk, making this one stand out a bit.

"Yea that's it. Here, let's cross over," he said, leading her across the street.

They walked along the buildings of the campus with Kira pointing out where the various schools were where. Lacus seemed to not loose her constant curiosity but to Kira, he felt there had to be some nicer place to take her. Sure they had seen more of the city as she had asked but yet that was not why she was out here. Or at least not what he had wished it all to bed like.

"Are you hungry?" Kira asked.

"Um well I am a little bit," she replied.

"I think I know the perfect place then."

"Is it the Archangel once more?" Lacus asked. He couldn't quite decipher if she was joking with that statement or not.

"No this is a smaller place. I usually just go there alone, really nice to just sit and think."

As they stood there, a bit apart from each other, Kira extended out his hand. She took a hold of his hand with a smile, saying simply, "OK."

The walk this time was just a few blocks. When they arrived, it was a small building covered in plants and ivy. The inside had a large ceiling and many open tables. "Welcome to the Yggdrasil," said the man behind the counter. Kira explained that the place was more of a café, with some very good cake that Cagalli loved to eat.

"Ooo those look quite yummy," Lacus said, pointing to some slices of a white cake.

"You should try some," he said. "You want some tea by the way?"

"Oh yes please," she responded, seemingly distracted by the various cakes.

Kira ordered them two teas and a piece of that cake Lacus had pointed out. As the man behind the counter pulled up a slice, Lacus began to to reach for her purse. "I'll get it, no worries," Kira said, noticing her intentions. She stayed unmoved for a second, apparently not expecting him to do this. But then she smiled and took the slice of cake quite happily.

The two sat at a table in the patio area. They chatted about simple things, Kira still trying to figure out what her interests were. She enjoy many types of music, but not things that were too popy. She liked to wear dresses and skirts more so than pants. When she had sung in public, she had always been nervous each time. Lacus even explained that she was not in any university at that time because she was still unsure what to do with her life. He even told some things about himself to her. How he had first met Athrun when they had bumped into each other in the hallway of their school and just started talking ever since. How he enjoyed working on computers but this was more of a hobby. And he himself even did not really know what he would do with his life.

They both sat there smiling, a joke he had said had made her giggle. They looked into each other's eyes suddenly as if their gazes had just crossed by mistake. The two were quite, just looking into each other's eyes.

"I have something to ask you," Kira said, breaking the silence. "It will probably sound a bit strange, seeing as how I just met you. But um..." he trailed off nervously.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Well you see... Recently, just last week, our professors invited me and my friends to Onogoro island for our vacation a week from now. I was, well... I wanted to ask if you would like to come along."

Lacus bit her lip, seeming to think about it. Kira grew nervous as she said nothing for that brief moment. As she looked down then back at him, her expression changed to a smile. "It does sound quite nice. I'll be happy to go along. I did not expect you to like me so already though." Lacus said.

"Or I guess it's just that you want to see me in a bikini," she joked.

"Well things in life sometimes do have a bonus," he said, joking back. She giggled, broadening that wonderful smile of hers. 'But any more time spent with you would be a bonus,' he thought to himself. Yes there was something special about this woman, even if he could not pin it down.

Contrary to all his earlier nervous thoughts, things were going very well. It was all even starting to feel like some sort of dream; a dream he didn't wish to wake up from. A dream with Lacus, the pink princess he was now seated across from.


	14. Chapter 12: Warmth

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: well I didn't really plan on writing a chapter so lovey-dovey, but here you go, hope you enjoy it.

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Chapter 12: Warmth

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Time had long been forgotten for the couple. They laughed and chatted, giggled and smiled; telling each other stories of their younger years, of their family, and of their friends. The two sat across from one another at the small table, lost in their world. Kira had been shy at first when he felt Lacus' foot rested up against his, but now that sensation had past. He had felt out of place when she had innocently slid her hand across the table only to run her pointer finger along his. Lacus had pulled her hand away playfully, seeming to be somewhat shy about these actions herself.

But now Kira decided to take a chance. With her hand resting against the table once more, out next to her cup, Kira slid his hand over to hers and turned it over slow. Lacus looked at him with a curious expression, but Kira kept his focus on her hand. He hovered his own above hers for a brief moment. Then with just one finger, with only slightly touching her skin, he ran the very tip in a line along her palm. Lacus squirmed at the sensation, giggling slightly.

"My how mean," she said teasingly.

"Oh sorry my princess," Kira responded with a smile. He was surprised at his own actions once more, but happy he taken a risk that normally he would not have.

Lacus outstretched her arm once more, placing her hand on top the one that had tickled her a moment ago. Kira lifted his fingers upwards, interlocking them with hers. She smiled and laid down her head against her arm, looking up at the brown haired man.

They smiled at each other in the silence for only a brief moment. Then the noise of the Lacus' phone interrupted them. She dug in her purse with her free hand and pulled up a pink phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked. "Oh hello father."

Kira attempted to listened in but could not hear anything from what the other person was saying. He looked down at their hands, still interlocked on the table. As she talked Lacus had turned to the side but her fingers still remained between his own.

"My oh my, I did not realize the time. Yes you can come to pick me up then." She turned her head to smile at Kira. "Oh we are at a café for the moment... Well I do not know exactly where it is located. Here, let my friend tell you the address then," she said, holding the phone out to Kira.

He looked at it for a moment, confused and a bit hesitant. "My father wished to know where we are so he can come pick me up," she said.

Kira took the phone from the pink haired woman and placed it up against his ear. "Hello?"

"Yes hello. I am Lacus' father, Siegel Clyne," an older man responded.

"Oh um hello. I'm her friend Kira," he said, trying to be too intimidated.

"Ah Kira, yes, I have heard briefly of you. We will have to talk some in the future," Siegel Clyne said calmly.

"Um yes," Kira replied quickly, unsure what to say to that question.

"So if you can, please tell me where exactly I should come meet you two so that I may pick up my daughter."

Kira told Lacus' father how to get down to the café. He thought to himself how the two of them spoke so properly. Once Siegel Clyne knew where to go, Kira handed the phone back to Lacus. She listened to a few more things her father was saying then hung up.

"I hope you do not mind, for these days it is quite hard to find time to each dinner together."

She smiled at him and Kira smiled back.

"No it's no problem at all. And we do still have a little bit of time left together,"

Lacus sighed softly. "Yes but I was hoping to go maybe for another walk."

"Well I'm not too busy this week," Kira said, reassuring her.

She nodded, "Yes we will have to get together sometime this week. And then we do have our trip to the beach shortly."

"Yea we do. I still have to buy a new bathing suit."

"Oh my I do as well. My current one is far too old and small, as such it would be far too revealing," Lacus said, with a teasing look on her face. Kira stared out blankly, lost in thought as to what would be an appropriate response, causing Lacus to giggle. "But I really must buy a new one. Perhaps Cagalli would be able to help me find a good place for that?"

"Um yea. I could have her give you a call."

"Yes that would be wonderful," Lacus replied. "It would be nice to get to know your sister some more as well."

"She did seem to really like you."

The two chatted a bit while longer, enjoying each other's company. Kira really did not want it all to end but it would happen soon enough. Eventually a tall man with short blonde hair and a large mustache walked in. Lacus quickly went up to embrace the man, hugging him close. Kira stood up for what he felt was an awkward introduction.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you," her father said.

"Yes nice to um meet you as well." Kira tried to smile through his nervousness. Lacus stood by her father's side, still wearing her big smile.

"So can I offer you a ride?" Siegel Clyne asked.

"Oh no, I'm not that far. The bus can take me there quickly," Kira told the man. "But thank you."

They walked back to the car, all three of them. Siegel Clyne shook Kira's hand once more and said his goodbyes. "We will have to talk some more sometime," he added.

Lacus stood by Kira for a moment as her father went off to his car. "I had a very nice time today. I am sad to see it end though."

"Yea," Kira said, smiling at her. "It was really nice."

"I will give you a call later tonight if that is not a problem," she added.

"No, no problem at all. I'll be waiting for it."

Lacus smiled big once more. "Well then, this is goodbye for now." She leaned in forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I will hear from you later then."

Kira stood there for a moment, looking into her eyes. He could of stood there for hours it felt like, but a sensation to respond woke him up from this dream state. "Oh um yea, goodbye Lacus."

She walked over to the car and opened the door to get in. She gave him a wave as she sat down. He waved back, watching her close the door. The car drove off, into traffic, and away from Kira.

He slowly walked off from the café. The bus stop was right around the corner. He was silent, in a dream state, even when he arrived home.

After entering his apartment, Kira simply laid down on his bed. He just stared up at the ceiling, recalling all the days events. After a while of reminiscing though, a hunger in his stomach overtook his daydreams. "Well guess I should at least eat something," he said to himself.

The evening came and went uneventfully. He had ran through his usual computer routine; read the various websites, and chatted with a few friends. But his mind was never really into any of it. The whole time there was a nervous sense of expectation from the promised phone call.

But as the night wore on the phone call never came. Eventually he just laid down once more on his bed, staring once more at the ceiling ahead. All the noises of the street filled in through his window, but none were the noise he waited for.

And so after another hour of laying there, the young man got up, stripped off all his clothes, and walked into his shower. It seemed like a better place to let his mind wonder.

The next morning Kira woke up, and was once again looking at his very plain ceiling. 'Maybe I should hang something up from there,' he thought to himself, noticing the lack of any real details in the white ceiling.

The morning routine passed much like his previous nights routine. His mind was lost, wondering what had happened to the phone call he was so expecting. Part of his brain then started to chime in, pointing out how strange it was that he had even been so hopeful for a simple phone call.

After a few hours of being awake a phone call did come in. Kira was sitting at his table, watching some t.v., when suddenly the phone started ringing. He looked at it with a confused expression for a moment, not expecting to hear it at all. Then he stood up and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kira," Athrun responded.

"Oh hey Athrun, what's up?" he asked, scratching his head.

"I was seeing if you wanted to go get a bite to eat at the Archangel."

"Yea sure. When are you heading out?" Kira asked.

"Right now actually. Felt the need to get out of my house," Athrun said.

"Alright, well come on over then."

"Ok, see you." With that Athrun had hung up. Kira walked in to his room to put on some pants and change his shirt. After that he went back to sit down and watch some t.v.

A few minutes had past since the conversation with his best friend when once again the phone began to ring. He looked up at it with a look of even more confusion. 'Who could that be?.'

"Hello?"

"Hello Kira," a sweet voice said.

"Oh hello Lacus."

"I am so very sorry for not calling you last night. For you see, there was some sad news of a friend of mine that I was suddenly informed of," she said, sounding a bit sad herself.

"I'm sorry to hear that. And it's really no problem at all, you shouldn't worry yourself about me," he said, trying to ease her mind as little as he could.

"Well," she began to say and then stopped for a moment. "I was hoping that, perhaps, I could see you once more today... if you are free of course. I hope you do not find it too bold, but your company would be quite nice at the moment."

Kira thought for a second, remembering to his previous arrangements with Athrun. "Um yea, I don't really have anything to do," he said, feeling as if these words were coming out involuntarily.

"Great. Do you mind if we meet up at that park you showed me yesterday?" she asked.

"Yes that sounds good. So when will you be there?"

"Um actually, to be quite honest, I am there already," she said, sounding rather hesitant.

"Oh well then I can head on over right now I guess," Kira replied, a bit puzzled.

"Thank you. I hope to see you soon then Kira," she said.

"Yea I'll see you soon."

He hung up the phone, staring out blankly. 'So Athrun does not have a cell phone. Why do neither of us have cell phones?' he asked himself rhetorically. 'I'm amazed Cagalli hasn't made him get one already. Guess I'll have to bug her about that.'

He could probably not expect Athrun for another fifteen or twenty minutes. Considering his options, something inside of his mind would rather not wait that long.

Kira suddenly looked down at his shirt for a moment. 'Guess I should change this,' he thought to himself. And so brown haired man ran into his room, stripped off his shirt and threw on another.

As he ran back out, Kira once again looked down and sighed. Then he ran back into his room and repeated the process with a new shirt. This time he took a moment to look over his option. 'This won't do either.' Scanning around the room he saw his original shirt on his bed.

'Damn it,' Kira thought to himself as he put that shirt back on. Quickly running out the room under a sense of urgency, the young man grabbed hold of the notepad next to his phone and scribbled down a simple message.

Sorry Athrun

Important things came up

I'll call you later

-Kira

In a quick motion he opened the door, slid out into the hallway, and closed the door. Kira folded the note, sliding it into the door frame. 'Hopefully Athrun sees it.'

Kira quickly jetted down the hallway and practically ran down the stairs. Once outside he briskly walked towards the bus stop. In his brain he contemplated why the vigorous movements, but just imagining a sad face for Lacus seemed to make him feel sad.

The bus ride itself was a simple ten minute jaunt that he was quite accustomed to. Exiting the bus he walked out to the park, past the rows of bushes that lined the outside. He went about walking the main path, looking for the pink haired princess.

And there, on a bench all alone, sat the woman. She had her hand outstretched to the other side of the bench where some pigeons pecked at it. Apparently she held some food for them in her hand.

From what he could see, she did not appear sad to him. Her face held a calm smile instead.

Kira walked over to her quietly. When he was just a few paces away she looked up and smiled in the way he was accustomed to.

"Why hello Kira," she said.

"Hey," he replied, watching the birds fly off as Lacus pulled back her hand. He took a seat next to her, turning to look at the woman.

"Thank you very much for coming. I am quite sorry it was so sudden," she said, sounding like her normal self.

He gave her a brief smile. "It's no problem, you don't have to keep thanking me over it."

Lacus smiled, looking forward out into the park. The two sat quietly on the beach, Kira turning his head also to look outwards and watch the various happenings around them.

"You know Kira," Lacus said, breaking the silence. "Many people would come upon a couple kissing in such a park as this, and you know... they would say to each other such things as: 'look at those two, do they know that they should not act as such in public?"

Kira was confused by what she was saying. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes, hearing her words as she spoke.

"But you know," she started, turning to look at him now, "part of me has always envied such free emotions of love. I never really knew them in myself."

Kira sat quietly, letting her speak. She looked down at her ground before starting up again. "I once had a friend like this, who was always so open with life. I did quite envy her at one time. She always drove me to be more open with who I was, much as she was open with who she was."

Lacus turned to look at Kira once more, shifting her weight a bit to face him better. He turned his head to look at her, still remaining the quiet listener.

"It has been some years since I last spoke to her. Then last night I received a phone call informing me that she had been suddenly killed in an accident. I did not know how to react to the news. But part of me, I guess out of remembrance of those lessons she tried to impart on me... part of me, you see Kira, felt the need to do something... well to do this..."

Kira watched as the woman before him, whose disjointed ramblings had confused him, suddenly pushed herself forward. With her arms wrapping quickly around his neck, she pressed her lips up against his.

He was thrown back slightly but kept his positioning. Her eyes were closed but his were wide open. The moist skin of her lips were locked on his. He could feel her breathing, feel her warmth.

Kira heard, through their embrace, her heart beating fast; almost racing. And then he noticed his own was doing much the same. Slowly he wrapped his own arms around her body, holding her close as she continued the firm kiss. He opened his mouth slightly and pressed back. She responded in kind, opening her own mouth to his.

The two sat on the bench, holding each other tightly. Kira closed his eyes, let all the sensations and feelings take over. He felt a slight exhale of air against his face as the pink haired girl he was holding on to let out a sigh. Somehow he knew that she needed this, that she needed to just let it all go for a moment. And he suddenly realized that he needed it too. He needed to hold her and feel something he's never felt before.


	15. Chapter 13: In Her Tears

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: alright hopefully this will be the last big delay... at least for a while

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Chapter 13: In Her Tears

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Minutes seem to pass, maybe more, or maybe it was only a few seconds. It was all a blur for Kira. Everything was so new, so unexpected. He had let it all out without a second thought, no caution that normally filled his mind. No caution at all, just emotion.

Kira opened his eyes a bit. Everything was a bit blurry but he could see her soft skin and her closed eyes. He could also see a single tear filling the edge of her eye and rolling down her cheek.

Lacus' arms loosened around his neck. He felt her pull away from their kiss. She bent her head slightly, resting her forehead against his. Kira just looked at her with her closed eyes. Another tear ran down her face.

She shifted down and he could hear her starting to cry. Her face pressed against his chest, she was letting it all out now. Kira stayed quiet, simply placing a hand on the back of her head. Somehow he seemed to understand. As quickly as things had changed before they changed once again.

People looked at them as they walked along the park but Kira didn't really take notice. They would probably be glancing over for some time to come and probably had been before. But he just held on to the pink hair girl as she wept.

He looked down at her as the tears rolled down her cheek. Lacus seemed to be in pain, in real physical pain. She clenched in her fist a piece of his shirt, holding it tightly. Kira did not know what to do or say. He just kept his arms around the woman, holding her close. It was all that seemed to feel natural, seemed to be what was right to do.

A cool breeze blew by, sweeping across his face. Kira looked up, across the park. The two were relatively alone now, save for a few birds. The small, brown birds took notice of them. He watched one approach, hopping along cautiously. The creature turned its head, scanning the ground and the two on the bench. It did not understand their situation and just seemed to hope for some food; maybe a crumb or two. After hopping a half-circle around them, the small bird flew off to join it's friends across the park.

For some reason the whole situation made Kira smile slightly. He noticed now that things had become quiet. Lacus was no longer crying, but she did not move. The one eye he could see of hers was open, but looking off into nothing.

She looked up at him, the two locked into each other's eyes for a brief moment. Lacus smiled slightly then pulled herself away slowly.

"I am... sorry," she said softly.

"Lacus, it's ok," was all Kira could think to say.

She smiled for a moment once more. "This is not my usual self you see... It just all came out without my intention. Well, not without intention yet..."

"But it's all fine. Something tragic happened to you. Something beyond your control."

"Yes. It seems I did not fully understand how much it affected me." She paused, looked up at him and then back down. "Things did not go quite so easily this time when we moved. I am accustomed to the changes, never staying in the same place. My time with my friend was much more special than I had imagined I suppose."

Kira watched her, not saying a word. Nothing he could think of would comfort her now.

Lacus took hold of his hand and lifted it up. She gave a slight kiss on his fingers then looked at Kira. "I am sorry," she said once more. "I must seem like a crazed girl right now. First I kiss you suddenly, out here in the park. And then I cry... cry all upon your chest."

"No you still have nothing to be sorry about." he replied. "Sometimes things can become difficult, sad things can happen to us."

She smiled. "You are very kind. Maybe that is why my mind told me it was best to invite you here today."

Lacus then leaned in and gave the young man a hug. He placed his arms around her once more, but this time she appeared happier.

"You know," she bagan, "I never had a mother and my father has always been busy with his work." Everything was then quiet, she did not say any more. She spoke up suddenly as if forgetting what was said before, "I want to show you something."

Lacus released her hug and looked at Kira. "Do you have some more time?" she asked.

"Yea I have time."

"Then please come with me," she said, standing up and taking hold of his hand. Kira followed in tow.

"Now I believe I know where to go," she said with a look of concentration.

They set off into the streets, turning down one and backtracking down the next. Kira was quietly walking along, never asking where they were going or attempting to help at all. He was glad she was feeling better, glad her mind was on other things. They could of walked all day long, he did not mind. But after what felt like an hour they arrived to where Lacus was taking them.

"Here we are," she said. The two stood in front of the central train station.

"What's here?" Kira asked.

"Well this is a place I like to sometimes visit when I'm walking around. Come and I will show you," she replied.

The two walked inside the large structure. Lacus took Kira up onto the balcony and the two overlooked everything bellow. "I enjoy watching all the people that come and go out through here. Sometimes I wonder where all these trains go off to."

"You know we'll be ridding in a train over to Onogoro island."

"Yes I am excited about that, it has been a while since my last trip on a train."

Kira looked over at her, watching as she scanned across the various peoples. She turned to look at him, apparently aware of his gaze. "Yes?" she asked.

"How much time do you have?"

"I am in no hurry."

"Want to go for a train ride?"

She smiled slightly. "Where will we go?"

"I know a train that goes around the city; might be nice to just sit and watch it all."

Lacus nodded and held out her hand. Kira this time took hold of her hand and led the way. The couple went and bought some tickets downstairs. The next train was leaving very soon. They walked on board and took two seats by the window.

The couple sat in silence for most of the trip. The train did a loop around much of the main city. Kira would take turns watching things outside the window and looking the woman next to him. She sat at the window seat, periodically turning herself to smile at him. After a while of ridding around Lacus leaned back against him. The two still sat quietly, enjoying the view together.

Eventually the peaceful ride came an end after about an hour. It had felt as if they were just sleeping through it all, not aware of the train or of time even.

The two walked outside of the terminal building after they disembarked, still quiet and seemingly in a daze. Lacus turned to Kira, smiling with her usual smile he loved to see, the usual smile that had been missing earlier.

"Thank you very much for everything," she said. "I think I will walk home now."

He smiled back at her. "It was a nice trip. I hope you feel better."

"Oh I will, mostly due to you." He felt rather shy about that comment, reluctant to accept that he really did much to help. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Kira. You are a very kind person."

"Oh it was nothing. I'm glad you called me. It was nice to see you again."

With that the two said their good byes. He wished there was something better he could have said but things did turned out well. She was smiling once more.

Kira made his way home, lost in thought much as he usually was after going out with Lacus. When he arrived at his apartment, the note for Athrun was gone.

Inside Kira made a sandwich and watched some tv. Things felt so quiet now inside his place. There was even a strange silence from outside the open window in his bedroom as well.

He didn't feel like going on the computer as per his typical routine. Instead a sense of laziness came over. He just sat watching the mindless shows on the television for a couple hours.

After a while of having his brain in this dazed state, things were jarred back to the world by the ringing of the phone.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone.

"Hey Kira, so what happened today?"

"Oh hey Athrun. Yea I'm sorry about today," he replied, feeling a faint echo to the earlier words of Lacus.

"Well so is everything ok?"

"Yea everything is fine. Everything is good, really. It's just, Lacus called suddenly. She sounded like she needed some company," Kira said, trying to sound very general.

"Oh I see. So is she alright?"

"Yes. Well she just needed to let some things out. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

"Alright then Kira, I'll see you."

"See you Athrun." With that he hung up the phone and sat down again.

With the television off, Kira sat in the quiet room. He stared out the small window at nothing in particular. He remembered that moment earlier, that moment Lacus and himself shared on the bench. The kiss they exchanged and the feeling he had felt.

Kira got up out of the chair and decided to just go to bed early for once and just sleep away with all the memories of that day.


	16. Chapter 14: A Day of Explaining

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: time and time again

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Chapter 14: A Day of Explaining

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Kira awoke feeling pretty well that monday morning. It seemed that going to bed earlier than usual really helped after all.

He met up with Athrun on their normal route. As they walked Athrun told Kira about the movie he missed out on, which from what was said was nothing to feel bad about missing.

But after he was done describing the movie, Athrun asked bluntly: "So what happened with Lacus yesterday?"

"Yea about that, you see she had a close friend of hers pass away. Apparently it affected her a whole lot more than she thought it would. So she just needed someone to talk to was all."

Athrun looked a bit serious for a moment. "Wow I see. You know, it sounds like the two of you are really getting close there."

Kira was a bit surprised by the comment, replying: "Well not so much. Or maybe. I mean, things are just moving at their own pace. She's nice, really nice, but I just didn't plan on any of this."

"I understand. Anyways, it is hard to imagine Lacus looking sad."

"Yea but I think she's has a lot of surprises in her."

Athrun let out a quick laugh. "Better watch it or else people might get used to you smiling like that," he teased his friend.

Kira didn't even realize he was smiling. He shot back an angry look. "Never letting me enjoy my moments."

The two continued to joke with each other as they walked on to class. Cagalli eventually joined up with them, having woken up a bit late that day.

The two friends went through their day and found their way to Professor Ramius' history class. She taught on as per usual, an entertaining lecture all in all. Kira took his lazy notes and looked at the slides. In the typical rhythm that it had started, the class was now over. Various students went up to ask the Professor some questions when it was all over.

Kira was on his way out when suddenly Professor Ramius called out to him. She was asking him to come down to the podium. Kira told Athrun he would see him later and walked up to the professor.

"Hello there Mr. Yamato," Professor Ramius said.

"Hello Professor," he replied.

"So I hear you wanted to invite a friend to the trip next week," she said with a slight smile.

"Yes and my friend does want to go, if it's still alright," Kira said rather nervously.

"So who is this lady friend of yours?" the Professor asked teasingly.

'Professor La Flaga, knew he would say something to her,' Kira thought to himself. "Her name is Lacus Clyne."

Professor Ramius stood pensive for a moment. "That's quite the interesting name, I don't know anyone with the name Lacus. And Clyne, I wonder if this friend of yours is related to that senator."

"Siegal Clyne?" Kira asked. "She's his daughter if that's who you are referring to."

Professor Ramius stood there looking at him for a moment. "You are joking right?"

"Um no. The politician with the big mustache."

She stared at him for another moment. "I don't know what to say. We are having Siegal Clyne's daughter come with us." Professor Ramius turned to look directly at her student. "Well I'm trusting you with keeping her safe and nothing better happen while we are up there."

Her stern look rather shocked young Kira. "I'll keep her safe, don't worry. And um thank you."

Professor Ramius still looked a bit troubled but simply said, "don't forget to tell La Flaga about this. I'll see you next class then."

Kira quickly made his way out of the class, feeling a sense of relief that it was all over. Walking down the hallway he saw his friend Athrun talking with some young looking red haired girl.

"Thank you so much," the girl said to Athrun as Kira came over. She walked away from them and out the doors.

"What was that all about?" Kira asked.

"Some girl that was really lost," Athrun replied. "So what did Professor Ramius want with you?"

"I guess I never got around to telling you. Professor Ramius and La Flaga had invited us on a little student trip."

"Oh yea, Cagalli told me all about that. Is everything fine with it?"

Kira nodded. "Yea it's just, I also asked Professor La Flaga if I could take another friend besides Cagalli. Ramius was asking me who that friend was."

Athrun shot Kira a questioning look. "Wait a minute. Did you invite Lacus?"

Kira waited a moment to answer, just replying "Yes."

"Wow you two really are hitting it off," Athrun said, prodding his friend with his elbow.

"I didn't do it because of that. She seemed so bored I thought she might like to come hang out with all of us," Kira responded.

"I know, I'm just joking with you. I will get to see everyone because I'm down there for the football game."

"Yea I'm looking forward to it. But listen, I'll see you later. I should go talk with Professor La Flaga now."

The two friends waved good bye and went off in their respective directions. Kira was feeling that he had to explain this situation to everyone. He couldn't imagine a single person being mad about bringing Lacus along. She was the kind of girl that could be friends with anyone. And of course it would be nice to spend some time out on the beech with her. Maybe things were moving pretty fast for his first real relationship but it didn't feel that way.

Professor La Flaga was listening to some loud music in his office when Kira came in. The Professor turned the volume down on the computer and motioned to the student to sit down.

"So kid, I assume you are here about your friend?" Professor La Flaga asked.

Kira sat down in the chair in front of Professor La Flaga's desk. "Yea I am. My friend wants to go if it's still alright with you."

"Oh great, great." Professor La Flaga began clicking away at his mouse and then sat with his hands ready above the keyboard. "So what's the name of this lady friend of yours?" he asked with a slight grin.

"Her name is Lacus Clyne."

"Alright. L A C U S?" he read as he typed, with Kira nodding a yes.

"C L Y N E?" Kira nodded once more.

"Hey that name seems rather familiar. Kind of like Senator Clyne," Professor La Flaga said, tapping his lip.

'Not again,' Kira thought to himself. "Yea that's her father's name," he said rather plainly.

Professor La Flaga raised an eyebrow in disbelief for a moment. Then he simply propped his head up with his hand and smiled at Kira. "Well well kid, you are always full of surprises. So you, young Kira, are dating the daughter of Siegal Clyne?"

Kira simply nodded once more.

"Alright well, you better keep her safe now. And if you two do anything, trying not to get caught by others," Professor La Flaga said.

Kira looked back rather questioningly. 'One part the same as Ramius, the other quite different.'

"If she has any questions, just have her call. See you later kid," Professor La Flaga said as Kira got up to leave.

The ordeal was finally all over. At least he hoped. Now he had to go off to his job at Professor Morgenroete's lab. It had been a while since last he was there with all the redesigns going on. The lab was located in the main science building, a short walk from where he was.

When Kira arrived at the lab he found everyone else already working. Sai Argyle waved his hand then propped up his small glasses. Miriallia and Tolle argued over something as the two sat looking at the computer. The quiet Kuzzey stood up and came over towards him.

"Hey Kira, see you've finally come."

"Yea so anything new around here?" Kira asked.

"Not really. We're not even sure what they all did." Kira nodded as Kuzzey continued, "but so I think there was someone here to see you."

"Who is it?"

Kuzzey pointed over to an office. "Don't know but they have on a really weird hat."

Kira was puzzled as he walked over into the office. He was momentarily startled when he stepped in. At first he did not recognize his own sister as she had on a huge flat hat covering much of her hair.

"That's a really big hat," Kira commented.

"Hello to you too," Cagalli replied with a bit of anger.

"So what are you doing here?" Kira asked.

"Well I had to ask Professor Morgenroete some questions but I heard something interesting when I called Athrun," she said cooly.

"Oh about Lacus?" Kira figured he would eventually be asked by his sister. He just didn't expect it all so fast.

"Yea so she is really going with us?" his sister asked.

"She is, unless something comes up."

Cagalli looked as if she didn't know whether to be happy or sad. "So you two seemed to have gotten pretty close."

"No we haven't yet, although everyone seems to think that. I just thought it would be nice for her to come along."

"I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just a bit worried is all. Lacus does seem really nice though," she said.

"She is," Kira simply replied.

"And you haven't exactly had a lot of girlfriends. Of course, I haven't had the best of luck in relationships either but," Cagalli said, seeming to not exactly know what to say.

"Yunna," Kira said quickly, then turned his head away, pretending he had said nothing.

Cagalli looked at her brother angrily. "Hey we all make mistakes," she yelled out.

Kira laughed a little. "Alright, calm down." At that moment he remembered something Lacus had asked him. "By the way, sis, I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Cagalli replied, looking untrusting.

"Well it's more a favor for Lacus. She was wondering if you could help her shop for a bathing suit."

"Yea I guess, you can just have her call me," Cagalli said.

"And one last thing." Kira paused for a moment to look squarely at his sister. "That is a really big hat."

Cagalli proceeded to hit Kira several times on the arm for the remark.

The two then parted ways and Kira went to work calibrating a new instrument the Professor had ordered. Things went fairly quiet at work, everyone appearing a bit tired on this monday. Tolle eventually became a bit bored and started to get talkative. After annoying everyone a bit, they knew it was time to go home.

Kira went home on a packed bus. The sky outside was filled with the colors of a setting sun. He had worked latter than he thought he would have. And once in his apartment Kira would be having to work on the program for the new instrument.

The night came slowly and uneventfully. Kira ate his usual simple meal and surfed the web for a while before started on the new program for the Professor. It was rather mundane, even for him.

At around ten o'clock Kira's malaise was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. 'Who could it be?'

"Hello?" he asked, putting the phone up to his ear.

"Hello Kira," replied the voice of the ever excited Lacus.

"Oh hey Lacus, how is everything?"

"I am doing quite well, thank you. I cannot talk long as there are guests over. But I wanted to thank you once more for the kindness you showed me yesterday," she said.

"It was nothing I need thanking over, don't you worry so much. I had a good time with you," Kira replied.

"That is good to hear."

"By the way, Lacus, the professors had no problem with you coming along to Onogoro next week. I guess if you still want to go."

"Yes I greatly look forward to it. You will have to tell me all the details."

"And also Cagalli said she could help you with the swim suit shopping."

Lacus giggled slightly. "Alright, well dear Kira, I must be going now. Can I call you tomorrow night and we can discuss this in more detail?"

"Sure thing Lacus, I'll be waiting."

"Good night to you then, Kira," Lacus said softly.

"Good night... good night," Kira responded, not exactly sure what he should say. As he hung up the phone he let out a slight sigh. 'Probably should have said something better.'

Kira went back to his computer desk but sat staring blankly at the computer screen for a few minutes.

'What's going to happen next week?' Kira asked himself in his head. 'And then after that?' He had never really asked many questions to himself, as this whole relationship had just started. 'Was this just something friendly or something more?'

All he really knew was that he wished she would call back right at that moment. She didn't and he knew she would not be calling, but he still continued to wish for another call.


	17. Chapter 15: Awaiting the Night Call

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: sorry for the extremely slow updating this story has had, but thank you for all the comments, I'm sometimes amazed so many people enjoy my little story...

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Chapter 15: Awaiting the Night Call

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It rained that morning and Kira had forgotten his umbrella. The rain itself was not harsh; the sky held its blue color. Still the young man found himself a bit soaked. It wasn't going to deter his mood though. Kira felt good on that morning. Maybe it was the fact that he had a phone call planned for that night.

Yet beyond that good mood, inside his mind, there seemed to be a small voice speaking of caution. He could feel like there was something he was forgetting.

Kira stepped into his math class, annoyed that his shoes were squeaking from the wetness. And as he looked over towards his usual seat it suddenly hit him.

The red head waving at him wanted something. She always wanted something. And today he really wasn't in the mood for her.

He sat down and said his hello, remaining polite as usual. Flay seemed to be her usual excitable self.

"I'm so glad you are here, can I see your homework? I don't think I did some of it correctly," she said.

He took out his notebook quietly and handed over the sheet with the homework. Flay furrowed her brow as she looked over the piece of paper.

Kira found himself looking at her curiously. He always liked it when she looked like this. With her forehead would tighten up and the way she would bite her lower lip, lost in concentration. Maybe it was times like these that he had really developed his crush those months ago.

Sure she was pretty, he thought to himself. But there were plenty of beautiful women in this town and even in this university. It was moments like these that set them apart though and not those moments where they were really trying to look pretty, but those where they just did.

"Kira?" he suddenly heard, breaking his long train of thought.

"Um yea?" he asked the to woman giving him the confused look.

"Is there something wrong?" Flay asked.

"No no, sorry, just thinking about something," he responded.

"Well thanks," she said, opening up her note book as the class began.

'Well maybe that voice was wrong,' Kira thought to himself.

During class he didn't pay too much attention. He took down the notes, followed the problems, but most of the words that Prof. Badgiruel said seemed to just blur away.

Instead he simply thought about women once more. Kira was used to being the quiet one, observing the others around himself.

It was one of those days really. His brain didn't want to be in class. And that's how it stayed, even through the rest of the lecture and the part after where Flay asked about when they could have another 'study date.' He hated her calling it that. It wasn't a date, it was just studying. But Kira paid so little attention to the conversation that when he was walking down the hallway later he realized he remembered nothing of what was said.

'Hopefully I didn't set up another study session,' Kira thought to himself. Oh well, sooner than later it would be nighttime and he could wait for the pink haired princess to call.

Kira began to realize something in his head after all that happened. Now that he no longer was concerned with every little thing that happened between Flay and himself during these brief meetings, their conversations were so much easier. No longer was he shy or nervous about each little question she'd ask.

"Hey Kira!" he heard some guy yell. When he turned around there was his friend Sai walking towards him.

"Hey Sai," Kira said as his friend caught up.

"So are you off to Prof. Morgenroete's lab?"

Kira nodded.

"So am I. Hey, so you excited about the trip next week?" Sai asked, clearly excited himself by the expression on his face.

"Yes. I mean I've never travelled much south of here, especially not to a place like Onogoro Island."

"I've been there a few times. I'm sure you'll love it, the beach is amazing there. And from what I hear, the place the professors rented out is on some great secluded strip of beach."

Kira felt a bit more excited from all the news even though to him it would all be something new, whether in the middle of the most popular beach or off in the most remote part.

"So ready to go out in your swim trunks? I hear there's gonna be some nice women there," Sai joked.

Kira shot back: "Hey one of the women going is my sister you know?"

"I know, I heard. I'm just joking with you. I am glad that Flay could come, even if it's just a few days. I didn't expect her to say yes when I asked," Sai replied, looking up at the cloudy blue sky now that the two were outside.

"Yea guess things are working out well for you," Kira said, not really wanting to talk about his own good fortune.

Sai nodded. "Yea I hope so."

The two moved quietly across the campus towards the building housing Prof. Morgenroete's lab. The sun was out high in the sky. The world still had a bit of a humid smell to it from the earlier rains.

At the door to the lab, Kira stepped forward and smoothly turned the nob to the open the door. He was very accustomed to the door handle that he didn't even make a noise opening it. But upon seeing what was going on inside, part of him wished he had.

Inside at a desk near the back wall the two friends saw their coworker Miriallia, sitting in the lap of her boyfriend Tolle, the two engrossed in a kiss.

Kira quietly closed the door once more.

"Lets give them a couple minutes," Sai whispered. Kira nodded a yes.

After standing outside for a few minutes, the two began talking very loudly. Kira once more opened the door, this time making an effort to make noise. Now Tolle was diligently typing something on the computer while Miriallia was looking through a microscope at who-knows-what.

Kira and Sai said their hellos and went inside, acting very casual.

The next two hours went along fairly quiet. Kira typed away by himself for most of time, working on some tools for testing the equipment. His mind wasn't really in the work though. The tasks were rather simple and the silent atmosphere made it all the easier to daydream.

"Is this the place?" he remembered Cagalli asking. The two had decided on going to the same University in Capital City to make things easier. It was so long ago that the two had visited during the summer before the classes would begin.

"So this is where we will be spending the next half decade of our lives huh?" Kira replied.

"Hey I plan on getting out in four years," Cagalli said proudly.

"Well if you need any help, little sister, I'll be here as well," Kira joked.

"Little sister!" she said, giving him an angry look. Their mother had never told them which was born first. They were twins, so one had to have come out first right? And Cagalli always said that she was the older.

That time seemed so far off now, as if he had aged a decade. When he and his sister had arrived to this new big city, they only knew other. But now he had met up again with his old childhood friend. And he had made other friends like the ones he worked with here.

And then there was Lacus. His girlfriend? Was that something he could call her now? Should he ask her about it? He really wasn't sure how it all worked, but he was pretty sure she would call him her boyfriend. It was all so fast and new to him. That smile of hers though, he thought, that made every worry go away.

"Hey Kira, you going to stay here much longer?" Sai asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Oh yea. I mean no, I'm pretty much done," Kira replied.

"The genius is daydreaming again," Tolle joked.

They packed up their things and Sai and Kira walked out together. Sai offered to drive him home, but Kira said it was too much out of his way.

"Well don't miss your stop daydreaming on the bus," he joked to Kira.

He did end up daydreaming all along the bus route, but as it was so routine, he did not miss his stop. Along the walk home, Kira could see very little of the sky. Things were dark earlier; the rain clouds had come again. He was still happy that the day was finally almost over.

The television proved to be more boring than usual for Kira. But he just couldn't rap his mind around much of anything else. The day had felt tiring and really he was just waiting for one simple thing...

And it didn't come. Well not at that moment, or the several other moments that he looked up at his phone sitting on the shelf.

So he waited. Eventually Kira got up and grabbed a lone beer that had been left over from a small get together he had had with Athrun. He drank it all as he watched more droning television programs. So then Kira went to use the bathroom, mindlessly waiting, and the phone rang.

'Damn it,' Kira thought to himself, quickly pulling his pants up and walking over to the phone.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Well hello Kira!" responded the familiar voice he had hoped to hear.

"Hello Lacus. I was hoping it was you," Kira said back.

Lacus giggled slightly. "So tell me, how has your day been?"

"It was nothing special. Just more classes and my work. I did get rained on a little but that was about all."

"Oh poor you. But I assume that the rain was very light."

Kira smiled slightly. "Yea it was very light rain. So how about your day?"

He could hear her sigh slightly. "My day has been boring to be honest. For you see, my father has been quite sick and I have just waited around to help. It was nice to see more of him but yet he did not want me around so that I would not catch the same illness he has. I have just spent much time waiting patiently."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's not that big of a deal," Lacus quickly replied.

"Yea but you know, I could have been there to keep you entertained," Kira joked.

Lacus laughed. "But I could not ask you to skip classes just for me."

"It would have been worth it," he replied.

"Oh Kira. So then, let us talk about this trip next week," she said, changing the subject.

"Well let me go look up the e-mail then. It should only take a moment," he said, walking over to his computer.

"Ok please do so," Lacus responded.

"Alright. Well we will leave on Sunday afternoon by train. The train itself leaves from the Corsica Train Station, you know where that is?"

"I am sure I can find out before then."

Kira went on to explain the scenario to Lacus. They would arrive that Sunday night, settle in to a small vacation house. There would be four professors accompanying everyone. The beach was very open and not near any popular tourist areas. Everyone had to bring their own money for food and a change of clothes for the week. But they were recommended on packing light. The group would return the next Sunday morning.

"What is this Island like?" Lacus asked.

"I don't really know to tell you the truth. Everyone talks about it as if it's a paradise. But I've never gone there myself," he said.

"Do we share a room with other people?"

"Yea with one other person. You can probably share a room with my sister though, she doesn't really know many of the other people," Kira said.

"Your sister does not mind?"

"Oh no, she loves you. Plus Athrun will be nearby for a short while during the first few days as there is a football competition going on."

"Ah so she will be shy from having him near at such a place?" she asked.

"Yea she's new to the whole relationship thing."

"But will she become jealous when I am around you and he is gone then?"

"Well if she gets to be that way around her boyfriend than I don't see why I can't be like that around my girlfriend," Kira replied jokingly. But a half second later it seemed, his brain registered what he had just said. It was as if time stopped then, a quietness echoed out along the phone line. He did just call Lacus his girlfriend.

Lacus giggled suddenly. "Yes Kira that is true," she said in her usual happy way. "So tell me then, my father wants to speak with a teacher organizing this. Do you have a phone number he can call?"

"Um yea. Hold on a moment," Kira said, still a little surprised over the whole situation. He gave her Prof. Mu La Flaga's number off the e-mail. Kira then also remembered about giving Lacus his sister's phone number, so that the two could shop together. She would call Cagalli tomorrow, she said.

"Oh darn. It seems my father needs me for something. May I call you later maybe?" Lacus asked.

"Yea sure. I'll be here."

"Good. Then I will hear your voice soon. See you Kira."

"Good bye Lacus."

He stood there over the phone, still repeating what he had said. Kira decided to take a late shower, maybe help calm himself down a bit. The word had slipped out but then again, there should be no problem in saying it, right? They had kissed now, more than once even. It seemed too real sometimes yet unreal as well.

Once out of the shower, Kira surfed the net some and then laid in bed. It was getting late and he supposed that things had become busy over at Lacus' place. Maybe he should just sleep.

He laid there in his bed, feeling surprising well, when the phone next to him rang.

Picking up the phone he asked "Hello?"

"Hello Kira. I hope it is not too late to call," the familiar voice once again answered.

"No, calling at this hour is just fine. Was everything ok over there?" Kira asked.

"Yes. I did not expect things to take so long. But my father needed to find some important papers," Lacus told him, sounding apologetic.

"Well it's no problem. I'm glad you called though," Kira said.

"Yes well, I did hope you were still awake. What are you doing now?"

"Oh just laying on my bed actually. Was just thinking of some things." Kira felt rather silly, not finding something better to say.

Lacus laughed lightly. "Well I am much the same. This day has left me tired."

"Yea. So you usually go to sleep at this hour?" Kira asked.

"Yes I do. Even though I am not studying I still try to wake up early every day. Do you sleep now as well?"

"Actually no. On most days I stay up pretty late. But that has been tiring me out lately."

Lacus sighed. "Kira Kira," she simply said.

After a moment of silence, Kira began: "So Lacus."

"Yes?" she replied, sounding a bit sleepish.

"Earlier. This may sound strange, but I hope you don't mind me calling you my girlfriend."

"Well that is what I am is it not?"

Kira did feel a bit odd bringing it up now. "It's just that, I guess I am not too used to this relationship thing."

Lacus giggled softly. "Like your sister? Well ee are a couple now, or at least I hope we are. You are in my thoughts at times and I am in yours no?"

"Yes you are. I was looking forward to talking with you all day actually."

"That is good to hear. And it was good to hear your voice as well. But I must admit that I will soon fall asleep like this, so I should get off the phone."

"I understand," Kira said. "It was nice talking with you Lacus. You sleep well."

"I will. Of course next time I hope to instead maybe fall asleep in your arms," Lacus said softly, letting out a giggle.

Kira was surprised by what he heard, taking a second to reply. "Um yea, that does sound nice, very nice. I think I'll dream better now myself."

Lacus laughed lightly. "Well good night Kira, I will see you soon."

"Yes. Good night Lacus. Sweet dreams." And with that he hung up the phone.


	18. Chapter 16: Just Going to be a Bad Day

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: ok again sorry for the long gap between updates. I will try to get these chapters out much more quickly. Thanks to everyone for the comments.

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Chapter 16: It's Just Going to be a Bad Day?

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He scratched his head, still refusing to open his eyes just yet. The phone was ringing loudly, or at least it sounded louder. It probably was ringing much the same as it usual did, but at the moment he wanted to simply sleep.

Reaching next to the bed, he felt around for the phone on the bedside table. Placing it against his ear, Kira gave a very sleepy: "Hello?"

"Kira? Are you still sleeping?" asked Athrun on the other end.

"Yea, should I not be?" he responded, confused.

"Well I suppose, if you want to skip your class today."

Kira opened his eyes suddenly and looked at the alarm clock. 'Shit,' he thought to himself.

"So listen," continued Athrun. "Me and your sister here will continue on to class now, just call me later on I guess. Oh, wait, Cagalli wants to say something."

Kira sighed as he wanted a moment, resting his head back down.

"Hey sleepyhead, is Lacus over there? What have you two been doing?" his sister asked intently.

"What? You are so weird sometimes. It is nothing like that. I just overslept," he protested.

"You better be telling the truth. Now get your ass to class," she demanded, hanging up.

Kira laid the phone back on the table and looked up at the ceiling. Part of him just wanted to keep sleeping. But he shouldn't be so lazy, or else he would never hear the end of it from Cagalli. She was worse than their mother.

An hour later Kira was wishing he had stayed sleeping. The bus he normally takes had broken down. He knew for a fact it had broken down as everyone at the stop could see the bus pulled over a few blocks over with smoke coming from the engine.

Eventually a new bus did come. Kira just had to wait as more people crowded the bus stop, also waiting for the new bus. And then of course the rain didn't help. For another day, it wasn't very strong rain, but he stood in it for a half an hour. 'It was another good day to forget the umbrella,' he thought to himself sarcastically.

The new bus had its own problem of being very crowded. There was no room to sit and not much to stand. He could not reach the handle bars on the ceiling, but luckily there was enough people that they basically all propped each other up. These rides were his least enjoyable. Eventually the bas made it to Kira's destination and he pushed his way out.

He set out walking quickly through the streets. He made his way to the campus, over to the correct building and down the hallway to his class. Kira checked a clock on the wall for the time.

'Damn,' he thought to himself. The class was almost done with, no real reason in disturbing things now.

Kira turned around, deciding to simply wait for Athrun to go eat lunch. This was their normal hour for that sort of thing. Of course for Kira it was a late breakfast but he didn't expect to oversleep by so many hours and take so long just getting to the university.

He found himself a bench to sit outside and wait.

What had made him oversleep? Kira wondered. Last thing that happened before he went to sleep was that phone call with Lacus. Then he fell asleep easily. Kira watched the people walk by and the trees rustle their leaves as he thought back.

'There was a dream...' he began to recall. Something happened, a dream involving a girl. Everything was a bit blurry in his head. Maybe there was a few dreams? Or just one that really is standing out in his mind. A pink haired girl, Lacus. Yea it was a dream about walking, with Lacus, down a beach. Was that all there was to the dream? It was all he could remember, just walking down the beach.

Then there was a feeling, some sort of feeling of closeness. The two were walking very close, maybe even holding hands? A vague sense of himself looking down and seeing her fingers wrapped around his own hand.

Apparently his body wanted to just stay dreaming and not wake up, he joked to himself.

"Hey Kira," he heard the familiar voice of his sister call out.

The brown-haired man turned to his left to see Cagalli walking towards him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was waiting for Athrun, but I don't think he is coming," commented Kira, sensing the time.

"Oh hate to break it to you, um, well we just went to go eat lunch. He had to leave early to help a classmate though," his sister replied.

Kira let out a sigh, "I guess I'll just go get a bite to eat real quick myself."

"Something wrong little brother?" Cagalli asked.

"Nothing in particular. It's just been one of those days."

"Guess you shoulda stayed sleeping huh?" his sister replied. "But anyway, I'm gonna stop by later tonight, alright?"

"Um sure, alright."

"So you better not have an empty fridge again. But I got to go, see you later," she said, walking away.

"Yea yea," Kira said, waving her off.

Kira sat still for another few minutes, looking around aimlessly. Where to eat? The local sandwich shop seemed to be the only good bet. He got up and walked the two blocks over. But when he turned the corner, the line was out the door.

"Should of stayed sleeping," he mumbled to himself.

In the end the sandwich was good, but the line had taken too long. He was rushing to get back to the campus and find the way to his class. Once there he sat down, feeling not so good from the rushed lunch. Added on to that was an unusually boring lecture.

He left the room feeling tired. Part of him said to just go home and skip work. But Kira knew he had things to do at the lab. The responsible part of his brain won out and off he went. On a normal Wednesday, Kira would head off to the library to study for a bit but he was definitely not in the mood for it today.

Getting to the lab this early meant the room was empty. An hour of typing away at the program and he was still in the room alone. His brain felt as if it had just melted out of his head. Feeling tired of the silent white room, Kira grabbed his things and went out the door. So he only was skipping part of work.

He was in no real hurry to get back to the apartment, but instead just wanted to move, to go somewhere. Kira walked slowly around the busy streets in the direction of his place. The sky was a bit cloudy but it seemed the rain was now all gone. And so he found his way once more to the park that he enjoyed wasting time in.

The benches were still a bit wet but it was no real problem. Just more of an inconvenience, one that after the day of small inconveniences, he could easily ignore.

It was a simple pleasure to just sit there and let everything move by. No more worries, no more concerns. Or at least no more being late to things. He probably should have stayed there in the lab for longer. There was much work to do, as there always was. But sometimes it was good to just ignore everything, like today.

And so the young man sat there watching the world around himself. The birds flying about, chirping in argument to each other. The squirrels cautiously approaching people seated at benches. The couples walking about talking amongst themselves. It was all just another day for this park.

Kira wasn't sure how long he had spent at that bench. The sun was noticeably lower when he decided to stand up. It was probably best to go back to the apartment now. And so he walked out the park and made his way slowly back.

He was feeling tired, as if the night had been spent busily doing something. Maybe the oversleeping messed with his system.

Upon opening the door he noticed a blinking light on the answering machine. The panel on the machine had a number three on it. Kira pressed the retrieve button, hearing a very familiar female voice.

"Kira? It's Flay. Call me back so we can study. See you!" Study? Kira asked himself. He searched his memory for when they had decided to do that.

The machine beeped and the next message started up.

"Kira? Where are you? We agreed to study when I spoke to you in class, remember? Well call me, I really need your help," Flay's voice said once more.

Yesterday, in class, when he had paid so little attention. It had been then. Kira quickly pressed the button to shut off the machine, not wishing to hear the next message from the red-head.

He stumbled over to his bedroom and fell down onto the bed. Setting his alarm for an hour from then, he decided to just nap it away. Calling up Flay right now was not something he was in the mood for. Kira kicked off his shoes and made himself confortable.

And so he slept until a loud knocking on the door awoke him. Who was that at his hour? He got up feeling heavy and tired. Looking at the clock next to the bed, Kira realized he had overslept his own alarm clock. 'More oversleeping,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe this thing broken?'

More loud knocking on the door; familiar knocking at that. Must be Cagalli. Opening up the door his premonitions were correct.

"What took you so long? And why do you look like you just woke up?" she asked, looking a bit annoyed.

"Well it might have to do with the fact that I did just wake up," he responded, turning around to walk back to his table.

"Lazy little brother. Now wake up, I brought your favorite person after all," his sister said.

Kira was about to sit down when he turned around. There standing next to his sister was Lacus.

"Hello hello," she said with her big smile.

Stunned Kira waved back.

Cagalli walked over to slap him on the shoulder, saying "See? Now he's awake."

"Hey," he protested as Lacus giggled softly.

"Well come on in and um, make yourself at home," he said to his two guests.

The women walked in and sat down across from each other at the table. Both wore simple t-shirts and jeans, and both had shopping bags in hand. It was the first time Kira had seen Lacus in pants. Her legs seemed slender but not too skinny. 'She was just attractive in anything,' he said in his mind.

"Something wrong?" Lacus asked innocently.

"Oh he's just checking out your legs," Cagalli replied for Kira.

"What? Hey no, I mean, its just I've never seen you in jeans," Kira said to the pink haired women.

"My yes, I do not wear pants as much as I did when I was younger. But it is good for casual shopping."

Kira sat down at the end of the table, asking plainly, "Shopping?"

"Yea didn't you get my message?" Cagalli said. "You know I expected you to clean up a little around here."

Kira turned around, looking at the answering machine. No new messages there. "Oh you must of been that third message that I didn't even bother hearing. I thought it was just someone else is all, sorry."

"Really? Like that Flay girl," his sister prodded.

"How do you know about her?" he asked.

"Well I am dating your best friend."

"Who is Flay?" asked Lacus suddenly.

Before Kira could say anything, Cagalli responded, "Oh it's the girl your boyfriend here used to dream about and now helps tutor."

"Hey, um it's nothing bad. I don't even really like her anymore," Kira interjected, stumbling his words in front of Lacus.

She simply giggled and smiled at him. "Do not worry, I do trust you my dear Kira."

He blushed at her response, or at least felt like he was blushing.

After a very brief moment of silence, Cagalli spoke up. "Ok ok. Now you have to show him."

"What?" Lacus asked as she turned to look at Cagalli. "But, I was going to save it for a later date," the pink haired women continued, obviously nervous about something.

"Come on now. Don't be all shy. Take your bag and go change in the bathroom."

Lacus looked hesitant. Cagalli stood up and walked around the table. "Come on, lets go little lady," she said, looking stern, pointing towards the bathroom. Lacus rose slowly, then was pushed by Cagalli towards the bathroom.

"Ok ok, I will do so just wait here please," Lacus protested.

Kira watched the entire incident very confused. His sister turn to him as Lacus closed the door to the bathroom.

"Have I got a surprise for you Kira," Cagalli said, obviously excited.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Well you see, dear brother, our friend here calls me out of the blue about going shopping. And you know, today I had some time to help her pick out a little something," she said slyly.

Kira remembered back to when Lacus had talked about shopping with his sister. And then he remembered how she wanted to buy a bathing suit. Was that what she was changing in to? Right in his own apartment?

"Yea I can tell you know what she's changing into," his sister said. "You know, I have to admit that normally I would hate how other girls look so much better in bikini's than I do. But with Lacus it's totally different. She's like some sort of goddess or princess."

Kira nodded, looking out in the direction of the closed door. 'Did she just say bikini?' he thought to himself.

"She has great taste," Cagalli added after a some silence.

"So you bought one too?" he asked as he waited, turning to look up at her.

"Yea, she helped me find the perfect one. But I am not gonna model it for you."

"I guess you are going to model it over at Athrun's then?" he replied, looking up at his sister.

Cagalli shot him an angry look.

"Ok I am ready," they heard Lacus call out from inside the bathroom.

The two siblings stared at the door waiting for it to open. It quickly sprung back to reveal a shy looking Lacus standing in the doorway with little on.

Kira was speechless, except for a simple and subtle, "Wow." There she was in a white bikini with small pink flower design. Her top attached itself at the neck and the bottom wrapped around her body. It covered her breasts completely but the curvature kept his eyes lingering for a moment. She wore a small cloth over the simple bikini bottom. It was a light pink and somewhat see-through, pinned at one side of her hips. Her slender legs and flat belly fully exposed were even harder not to stare at.

He attempted to act a gentleman, looking her in the eyes. Kira noticed she was looking right back at him, and appearing a bit shy.

"So how does she look," Cagalli prodded him.

"She looks great. I mean, yea, Lacus you look really good... in that."

Lacus smiled at him. "Thank you Kira."

"Alright, enough of making Lacus feel all embarrassed from looking so good," Cagalli said. "You can go change, I mean if that's all right with Kira here."

Kira jerked his head away from Lacus with a: "What?" Realizing what had been said, "Oh yea you can change back."

Lacus placed her hands on her hips, looking at Cagalli. "You do quite enjoy torturing your brother."

"Who wouldn't? It's so much fun. Now go, you look too good."

Lacus went back into the bathroom and changed. The girls stayed only a brief moments more, eating some cookies, and then had to leave. Kira said his good byes to them both. For a moment he thought about giving Lacus a quick kiss on the cheek but with his sister there, he decided against it. It seemed that the pink haired woman thought much the same and went ahead with her own plans. As they stood in the doorway she leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. He smiled at her as Cagalli looked away.

"Bye, see you two later," Kira said as they walked down the hallway.

It had all ended as quickly as it had began in Kira's mind. The girls came and went in such sort time.

He made a sandwich and began surfing around the net aimlessly. But nothing kept his attention as he just kept picturing Lacus standing by his bathroom door over and over in his head.

'I must be one of the luckiest men alive,' he thought to himself. A bad day? No, it was all worth every minute.


	19. Chapter 17: Just a Brief Moment

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: time is never enough….

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Chapter 17: Just a Brief Moment

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It was a cooler Thursday, the clouds rumbling up in the heavens. Kira did manage to wake up on time and no unusual obstacles on his way to the university. Even if there had been any problems, they would have been forgotten in his mind by the thoughts of his pink princess.

The classes came and went without much of a hick-up. When his class with Flay occurred, he quickly apologized, saying he had other things that suddenly came up. She was angry, as she tended to be, but forgave him if he would tutor her that night.

And so, being the nice guy he was, Kira agreed. That evening Flay came knocking on his door. This time he was happy, well for the most part, that she was dress in some unflattering work out clothes.

That day the red haired girl was at her most studious. It even impressed Kira how hard she was working. Something had really got her working that day.

The study session went briskly and even ending rather boringly. He was left tired from it all while Flay was still full of energy. She said her good byes, saying she was off to shower and study some more at home.

"I thought maybe of showering here but I guess I will not intrude myself too much for today," she said slyly, with a wink and a smile. "Bye Kira, thanks again!"

Kira smiled and waved back. 'The knowledge that two girls were naked in my bathroom one day after another might just be a bit too much,' he thought to himself.

Things had finished so early that the sun was still in the process of setting. Kira felt rather bored suddenly as he sat in the quiet room.

"Well, I do have a girlfriend now," he said to himself quite bluntly, as if the fact was something new to him.

He sat at the table thinking about maybe giving Lacus a call, or maybe even inviting her out to dinner. Of course he didn't really have much money to spend, especially with the trip this coming Sunday. But he should do something special, Kira thought.

This was no ordinary girl. They did connect easily on some level but he felt he should do something to show some affection.

Kira sat for a few moments with his chin against the table. What could he do?

Not coming up with any plan of action, Kira figured that at least he should call Lacus to see if she was available to go out.

Picking up the phone he dialed her number. After a few brief rings, a man's voice came from the other side with a simple: "Clyne residence."

"Yes is Lacus available?" Kira asked politely.

"One moment. Oh is this Kira by any chance?" the man asked.

"Yes it is."

"It is good to hear from you once more. It is me, Siegel Clyne," the man said.

Kira suddenly felt nervous, a moment ago he had thought it was just a simple butler or some such person. "Oh hello Mr. Clyne."

"Yes now that I have you on the phone, I wish to ask, what are your plans for this weekend?"

"I have nothing really planed. Well we are leaving on Sunday but besides that there is nothing."

"If you are free then, perhaps you can come join us here at my home for dinner this Saturday?"

Kira was surprised by the request but quickly agreed.

"Very well then," Mr. Clyne said. "My daughter is here waiting, so I will see you Saturday."

"Yes see you then," Kira said, feeling relief once he heard the voice of Lacus.

"Hello my dear Kira," she said into the phone.

"Hey Lacus, good to hear your voice," he said nervously.

"Yes good to hear yours as well."

"I was just calling to see if you were free to go out for a bit tonight."

"My yes but not at this moment. For you see I was just about to have dinner my father, and it is not often that he is free for moments like these."

Kira sat down, feeling at ease that she had accepted his offer. "That's no problem, I can wait."

Lacus giggled softly. "So where are we to go tonight then?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I just wanted to, well, to go out some with you."

"You are so sweet Kira. Well let me think, this may not be to your liking but we can go to the Valentine Mall and walk some."

"Oh that doesn't sound bad at all. We can meet up there after you are done eating."

"Yes. So now that I have a few moments, how was your day?" she asked.

"My day? Boring mostly, just classes and helped tutor that Flay girl a bit more."

"Oh so spending much time with her are we?" Lacus said, sounding pouty.

"It was just tutoring. I didn't even let her change at my place," jokingly responded.

"Oh I am quite sure you angered just by the idea. But then again you did not seem to protest when I changed into that swim suit," she said sarcastically.

"Well I didn't want to be rude, with such a pretty girl in my apartment..."

Lacus giggled. "I will try not to bother you with such things in the future then."

"You can trust me that you are always welcome to bother me with such things," with some emphasis placed on 'such things'.

"Is that so Kira? Well now I must ask: are you going to only call me on these boring days?"

"No, guess I am not much of a phone person. But I can call you more often."

"I would like that, to at least hear your voice more. Yet I must go now, it is time for me to eat. I will be calling you then in about an hours time or such."

"Alright, I'll be waiting. You have a nice dinner."

"See you Kira."

"Bye Lacus."

He hung up the phone after a moment, waiting first to hear the click on the other end.

Kira decided to busy himself with surfing the net aimlessly. There was an unexpected feeling of excitement that continued on from when he put down the phone, causing him to basically look for any distractions he could find to help the time pass.

Inside his mind suddenly came to remember that this all began with looking for a way to show his affection to Lacus. Maybe some sort of present? She is the daughter of a rich man though. What could he get her that she might like? Lacus does not seem to wear much make-up or jewelry, except for that hair clip. She was a simple girl in her dress but that was part of what he liked.

He continued the train of thought as he went into the kitchen to prepare himself a sandwich. Kira searched his memories for what the other girls around him liked or wore that could be something Lacus would.

As time past and he ate his food, nothing came to mind. In the end he just watched some television and waited for the phone call to come. It came later than he had hoped but once he heard the ringing, he stopped caring about the time.

"Hello Kira, so are you ready then?"

"Yea all set. So I'll meet you there then?" he replied.

"Yes, and so that you can find me I will be wearing a white dress."

"Oh trust me, you are always the first thing I see."

Lacus giggled a bit nervously. "See you soon then."

"Bye Lacus," Kira said as he put down the phone.

Smooth, he jokingly thought to himself. But then he stood there for a moment actually realizing that it was at least a bit smooth, so to say. He actually impressed himself. With that Kira went to change into a nicer shirt, putting on a simple long-sleeved black shirt to match his black pants.

Setting out to the bus stop, he felt himself walking much faster than he usual would. But at the bus stop he had to wait. A slight mixture of impatientness and nervousness danced around inside of him.

One bus switch later he was at his destination. Stepping out into the large courtyard in front of the mall, Kira looked around past the crowds of people. There, in the midst of all the city lights, he saw her bright pink hair.

Kira walked past everyone, briskly approaching the young woman. She finally turned and noticed him coming, her face lighting up with a smile. He felt himself smile much the same.

Standing just a mere step from each other, Lacus gave a slight bow then said "Hello Kira."

Kira smiled once more, replying simply "Hello Lacus."

She suddenly lunged herself against him, hugging him tightly. After a moment, he embraced her himself as the two stood quietly for a moment. She then turned her head up to look at him.

"So what has you asking me out so suddenly?"

"Maybe I missed you," Kira said, looking down into her silvery eyes.

She smiled back, "Well let us go then and take a walk together."

They let go of each other and turned to walk side by side to the entrance of the mall. Kira was nervous, putting his hand in his pockets. As the two approached the entrance, he felt an arm hook inside his. Lacus had surprisingly taken the initiative, pulling herself close to him. The two looked at each other and smiled, then continued into the mall complex.

The place was full of folks old to young walking about. Whole families and groups, couples like them, and just folks walking alone roamed the mall.

Kira and Lacus walked around, looking at all the things displayed, chatting about this and that. She asked him what kind of clothes he usual bought; he replied long sleeve shirts, simple clothes that looked nice, or at least what Cagalli said was nice. He asked her the same; Lacus in turn said a variety, mostly simple dresses. She enjoyed colors, like whites and blues and some pinks and purples.

As she looked at some clothes through a window, Kira turned to survey the area for a moment.

"You like ice-cream?" he spontaneously asked.

Lacus turned to look at him with a questioning look. "Yes, does not every young woman?"

Kira smiled. "Well there is a nice place upstairs if you want."

"Sure, let us go," she replied with a smile.

The couple walked, arms interlocked, up the stairs.

After ordering a cone each, they sat down at a bench, away from the other people sitting much the same.

"This taste quite nice," Lacus commented.

"Yea I like their flavors."

"But you just ordered simple chocolate," she pointed out.

"What's wrong with that? It's good, traditional. Plus you yourself just have vanilla and strawberry swirl," Kira replied.

"Yes but I cannot be fancy every night," she giggled.

Kira smiled, watching her lip up another bit of ice-cream. He silently leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. Lacus turned with a shy, startled look which changed to a nice smile. It was that nice smile that he missed those moments they were apart.

She turned back to her ice-cream and took another lick. He continued watching her, somehow enjoying looking at her pretty face.

"You should taste some of this," she said softly.

"Alright," Kira replied, about to lean over.

But he was stopped as Lacus herself placing her mouth over the top of the dome of ice-cream. She seemed to suck in a bit of it then turned to look at Kira. Her cheeks were a bit red and her mouth slightly open, with a shy look in her eyes.

Kira felt he understood what she was trying to say. And so the young man lean over and placed his lips upon hers. He opened his own mouth and let the ice-cream slide from hers to his.

It was all a moment that the interaction took place, a moment before it was over. They had pulled away and continued to eat their own ice-cream, both with shy looks upon their faces. But now Lacus was leaning up against Kira and he had his free hand upon her knee.

That moment though, ever so brief as it was, made Kira think. He was never one to express himself, or show affection, like this in public. But here he was, a large mall, sitting with his girlfriend. A brief moment he wished to relive a thousand more times.

Or maybe, just maybe, for the rest of his days.


	20. Chapter 18:The Dinner with Lacus’ Father

Gundam Seed is owned by Bandai/Sunrise, I don't own it.

notes: not dead yet, but yet again, sorry for the inexcusable delay. I hope this chapter has enough to satiate your needs (or maybe I just went too much out there).

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Chapter 18: The Dinner with Lacus' Father

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Kira was feeling nervous. In just a few short hours he would be seated at a table in Lacus' house; seated with her father.

The previous day had gone by without many happenings. Classes had their typical lectures and the lab had its normal tedious work. Afternoon he spent out in downtown with his sister, buying some things they would need for the trip.

That night the siblings met up with Athrun to watch a movie. Kira tried to get Lacus to come out but she had been feeling sick.

'They behaved themselves well,' Kira thought back to the movie as he set out clothes, for once in his life diligently looking over his wardrobe as to what to wear.

Today he had spent a bit of time packing. He had not planned on taking much but his sister did make him nervous about forgetting something. "Don't come asking me for something you forgot," he remembered her saying.

Kira took a shirt off the rack in his closet and threw it onto the bed above a pair of pants. 'This is supposed to help me imagine what it looks like right?' he asked himself. He quietly sighed and decided to just put that outfit on.

Butting up the shirt he looked at himself in the mirror. Never had he been so concerned, but Lacus had made him nervous about the dinner. "My dad is excited to see you, but being so busy he might not see you for a while after, so you better look quite good then." He remembered her sly voice as she said it.

Last night after the movie was over he did call her back. They talk for a long time, long into the night. It was getting easier to find things to talk about, which made him happy. He had been always worried that they did not share enough in common.

"You know, people always think that I am a girl that has had many relationships. I do not always understand it," she had said.

"Well you are an easy girl to talk to. I'm sure many guys wanted to date you."

"That is true, but I have only had one real relationship before and that was with our dear friend Athrun. Even so it was as if we were just close friends."

He somehow had felt good about that. But Kira wasn't sure as to why. What was it inside of himself that made him like the fact that Lacus had not been dating many other guys? Was it that he was still so nervous about his own lack of experience when it came to dating?

Or maybe he just felt good that she had selected so specifically whom to date? It was a nice idea to think he was special to her in such a way.

Kira wished he naturally knew more about how to act when dating someone and then could just be the smooth talker, the brave guy. He needed to work on it but yet everything about this relationship seemed like a dream at times.

Standing in front of the mirror, the young man checked out his attire. 'I hope this looks good enough. She did tell me not to actually worry about it, but I'm going to have to sit through a whole dinner this time.'

Walking out the bed room and into the living room, Kira picked up the phone, calling up a taxi to take him. This way, he figured, there was less chances of getting his clothes dirty and it would be a much shorter trip.

After some twenty minutes of sitting around, the taxi arrived. The drive would take a bit more than half an hour.

Kira sat quietly in the back, his head leaning up against the window. The cab veered around the small streets of his neighborhood. Small shops dotted the mostly residential area. Many were inside at this hour, getting ready or in the process of eating dinner.

But once the driver turned onto the major avenue, the whole city opened up. A road built with four lanes in each direction. The sides were filled with large buildings and bright signs. Varied people crowded the intersections and sidewalks. Shops, restaurants and cafés gleamed with life.

It was these parts of the city that never slept. At almost all hours of the night there where cars packing the roads and many times more people walking alongside them. There may be parts of the city that never saw a police officer after dark but here they walked around with the people, their cars sitting ready for anything.

It was not often that Kira found himself out like those around him. Except for the occasional movie with Athrun or dinner with his sister or friends, Kira mostly stayed at his small apartment. But here he was, out in the city's night life, out crowding the road.

Yet with it all he just hoped to get to Lacus' house soon. He daydreamed about being one of those people and walking along the brightness of the nightlife with her, with his girlfriend.

Of course, first he had to worry about making a good impression with her father.

The taxi eventually moved away from the main boulevards and off into more small neighborhood roads. After some minutes of driving the housing began to look noticeably bigger.

After some minutes more, the cab pulled up to a very familiar gateway.

"This is the place, yes?" the driver asked.

"Yea it's the right place. Thank you."

After paying the fare, Kira walked up the gate. He pressed the button on the wall.

"Yes hello?" the familiar voice of Lacus rang out from the intercom after a few seconds of waiting.

"Hey Lacus, it's me, Kira."

"But of course I know it is you Kira, come in," she gleefully responded.

As a noise rang out, Kira pushed open the gate. It felt like a long walk up the door, but as he approached it opened to the smiling face of his pink haired princess.

"Hello hello my dear Kira, it is very good to see you."

"Hey Lacus, you are looking nice," he commented. She wore a simple white dress. But on her, simple dresses let everyone see her natural beauty. She didn't need any fancy dress or make-up, he thought, she was born without any need for them.

When upon reaching her, she placed her hands on his upper arms and gave him a simple kiss on the cheek.

"Come in, we are very excited to have you over tonight," she said after walked back a few steps.

"Well, um, thanks for having me."

She giggled slightly. "You appear to be a bit nervous. But do not worry..." Lacus stepped up to him once again, and leaned up to his ear.

"Even if my father hated you, he couldn't keep me away from that shy face of yours," she whispered. With that Lacus quietly walked down the hallway.

Kira just watched for a moment. 'That has to be one of the sexiest thing she has ever done' he thought to himself. After a moment of shock he quickly walked up next to her. They exchanged smiles and walked side by side to the living room.

Lacus' father was there, reading the newspaper. He stood up and shook Kira's hand. Although remaining nervous, Kira politely said his hellos and took a seat when invited to by Mr. Clyne.

"Thank you for coming. I am rather busy these days and I have not had time to get acquainted with you yet. Lacus tells me so many good things about you."

"Ah well thanks for having me," Kira responded, trying to appear calm. He looked over to Lacus that had just sat in a chair next to his, with her casual gleeful smile.

"So I hear you attend the national university. What are you studying?" Mr. Clyne asked.

"Computer science."

"Oh so you enjoy working with computers?"

At that point Lacus stood up and excused herself to go check on the food. This only added to Kira's unease. He felt like a young teenager about to take a girl out on her first date. While Mr. Clyne's questions where all friendly, Kira still felt as if he was failing to make a good impression. To add to it was the fact that he knew Mr. Clyne was a prominent senator and here the young man was in this roomy house talking without the same articulation that the Clyne family seemed to share.

As Kira corrected himself in answering a question, he caught Lacus hiding behind the doorway, giggling quietly to herself.

'She left me hanging, and she's finding it funny. I'll have to remember this later,' Kira thought to himself.

He re-centered his focus on Mr. Clyne as the man asked him another question. After a minute Lacus appeared, informing them that dinner was ready.

The three quietly walked down the hallway to the dinner table. "How about you sit here, as my daughter enjoys sitting in the chair next to mine."

Kira nodded and took the seat across from Mr. Clyne, with Lacus sitting at the end of the table between the two men.

"For tonight, we have some nice raviolis. Something simple for this first meal together," Lacus said to the two.

"It looks quite nice," Mr. Clyne added, placing the cloth napkin properly in his lap.

"Yea looks really good," Kira agreed, following Mr. Clyne's example with the napkin.

Lacus took hold of the spoon and began to dish out some of the ravioli onto her father's plate. "Let us all eat then," she said as she moved over to serve Kira.

The three ate slowly as Mr. Clyne continued to feed his curiosity.

"So you are from the northern territories as well. You know, I am quite glad that things are at peace now so that we can all live here in the capital together."

"Actually back when the conflict was still going on we just lived in the southern providence. Things were fairly calm down there," Kira informed him.

"Yes they were spared the trouble we had to once live through. You are very fortunate to have grown up there. Does your family still live in the south?"

"They do. I mean, when things were bad, it was as if there was no problems going on. Guess we were sort of ignorant to it all. So I'm sure they still feel that safety there."

Mr. Clyne wiped his mouth before responding. "The south has been somewhat autonomous from our nation so I can imagine that would be the case."

The three ate on for a few moments without anyone saying a thing. It was then that Mr. Clyne cleared his throat and asked the question Kira was not expecting.

"So Kira, tell me, what is it that you like about my daughter?"

"Father!" Lacus interjected. "That is not a question you should be asking. It is quite embarrassing as well." She had remained quite through much of the evening but it seemed this was too much for her.

"Well I am just very interested in this young man."

"Yes but you should not ask such a personal question now. What he feels for me is between Kira and I."

Mr. Clyne seemed to almost laugh at the response his daughter gave. Of course Kira wasn't sure, as he never saw the man with much of a different expression.

"Lacus, come now, do not be so unreasonable. I do not see anything wrong with Kira. I am just inquiring what he finds when he think of you."

"And we were having such an enjoyable dinner," Lacus commented angrily.

Kira was feeling the need to answer as Mr. Cylne looked directly at him, still somewhat expressionless. "So what is it then that attracts you to my dear Lacus?"

"Um well," Kira began, a bit embarrassed as he shifted his look down to his plate. "It's the way she smiles, you could say. Not just that Lacus has that nice smile all the time, but how she really feels it, really does seem to be happy. I mean, I'm just a simple guy that goes on about his day like everyone else. But she seems to really live it, and I always look forward to seeing that smile. I suppose that doesn't make much sense."

There was a moment of silence that seemed to drag on forever. Kira was infinitely nervous over what he had just said so openly. Looking up he saw Mr. Clyne smiling and Lacus staring at him in a rather shocked manner.

'Uh oh, I wonder if she is mad that I ended up saying something,' he thought.

Mr. Clyne chucked for a moment. "Well said, you remind me of when I was younger."

Lacus turned to her father, looking a bit angered as before, "Yes but I'm sure not as rude."

"Oh my Lacus."

The noise of the phone ringing ran through the house. "The maid will get it," the father informed Kira.

A moment later the maid appeared, holding the phone. "Mr. Clyne, there is a phone call for you."

"Oh my, excuse me a moment if you will. I do hope it is nothing important," he commented as he stood up.

After her father walked away, Lacus looked at Kira and smiled.

Still feeling nervous, Kira commented: "I'm sorry about, you know, saying that."

"Did you not mean it then?" she asked.

"Oh well no, but you didn't really want your father asking such things and all."

She smiled at him once more. "You did quite surprise me. I am glad that you said what you said."

My. Clyne appeared at the doorway once more, informing them that he would not be rejoining the two for that evening. Important business had come up that he had to attend to. He thanked Kira for coming and then left the couple alone.

"How about I show you around some more?" Lacus asked.

Kira agreed and she took his hand, guiding her boyfriend around the house. The tour itself was actually quite short, just showing off a small study, a guest room upstairs, and then ending at Lacus' room.

"So this is where I sleep," she simply said, extending her arm to usher him in.

The room was big with a desk for studying, a tv on a stand, and a large bed. There was a lot of pink, blues and whites in the room. It was simple but vibrant, much like her.

"Wow you have a lot of stuffed-animals," Kira said as he walked over to a large shelf by the bed that displayed them.

"Yes these are from my childhood until now. They round ones here are Haros. Our friend Athrun made them for me. At first it was all he could do in his class but I enjoyed it so much that he made more for me. I do like them but he is much better when he works with electronics."

"Yea he can fix anything," Kira lightly said as he turned to the woman standing next to him.

They looked at each other for a quiet second when Lacus suddenly leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

She placed a hand against his chest, at first softly but then he felt some pressure behind it. It threw the young man off balance and he found himself falling against her bed. Instinctively he garbed a hold of her arms, pulling her down with him.

Kira looked down at her, as her head rested against his chest. She looked back at him with a smile.

"Hello," Lacus whispered.

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Kira whispered back with a grin.

"Yes I did. What you said earlier, it was more than unexpected." She turned away from him for a few seconds, resting her body against his. Lacus brought her legs up along the bed so as to not have them hanging over the side but kept her torso where it was.

"What it was my Kira, it was wonderful. Thank you."

"I meant it all of course, I sometimes feel a bit strange around you because you are so... great."

She giggled slightly and looked up at him once more. They locked their eyes on each other, so close now to each other's.

"You know, it is typically the man in those romantic stories that says such a thing but you will have to excuse me for saying it myself."

Kira gave her a questioning look.

She sighed and began: "You know, I hope you do not mind but I have to kiss you now. And I probably will not stop for a while to come."

As if driven by what she said, Kira rolled himself over along with Lacus so that now he was on top of her, his body hovering above hers. They smiled at each other and she even giggled nervously which caused him to laughed slightly. But with that he moved closer and closer to her lips. He closed his eyes, letting the sensation of touching her lips with his fill his mind.

He was nervous, he was shy, he was unexperienced. Yet for that moment, he was in love and all that did not matter.


End file.
